The  MASCOT  of 


O 


THE  MASCOT  OF  SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 


I 


THE  MASCOT  OF 
SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 


By 

HENRY  WALLACE   PHILLIPS 

Author  of  Red  Saunders 

Plain  Mary  Smith 

etc. 


With  Illustrations  by 

F.   GRAHAM    COOTES 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT  1908 

T«  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 

OCTOBER 


Bancroft  LSbxet? 


THE  MASCOT  OF  SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 


THE  MASCOT  OF  SWEET 
BRIAR  GULCH 

THE  gulch  ran  in  a  trough  of 
beauty  to   the  foot  of  Jones's 
Hill,  which  rose  in  a  sweeping  curve 
into  the  clouds. 

Wild  flowers,  trees  in  profuse  leaf, 
and  mats  of  vines  covered  the  scarred 
earth,  and  the  sky  was  as  limpid  as 
spring  water;  the  air  carried  a  weight 
of  heart-stirring  odors,  yet  Jim  Felton, 
sitting  on  the  door-step  of  his  cabin  in 
the  brilliant  sunshine,  was  not  a  happy 
man. 

i 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

He  looked  at  the  hollow  of  the  gulch 
and  cursed  it  manfully  and  bitterly. 
The  gold  should  be  there — Jim  had 
figured  it  all  out.  The  old  wash  cut  at 
right  angles  to  the  creek,  and  at  the 
turn  was  where  its  freight  of  yellow 
metal  should  have  been  deposited,  but 
when  you  got  down  to  the  bed-rock,  the 
blasted  stuff  was  either  slanted  so  noth- 
ing could  stay  on  it,  or  was  rotten — 
crumbling  in  your  fingers,  and  that 
kind  of  bed  will  hold  nothing. 

Therefore  Jim  had  sunk  about  fifty 
prospect  holes;  got  colors  under  the 
grass-roots,  as  evidence  that  pay  should 
be  there — and  nothing  but  ashy  wash 
beneath  it. 

2 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

When  a  man  is  alone,  and  thinks 
things  are  wrong,  optimism  cornea 
down  on  the  rup,  the  shades  of  pessi- 
mism gather  fast  and  furious — more 
especially  if  a  man  does  his  own  cook- 
ing, and  the  raw  material  is  limited,  at 
that. 

The  sun  had  not  moved  the  shadows 
three  inches  before  Jim  had  reached 
the  conclusion  that  this  world  was  all 
a  practical  joke,  of  so  low  an  order  that 
no  sensible  man  would  even  laugh  at  it, 
and  he  drew  a  letter  from  his  pocket 
in  proof  thereof.  It  was  a  thin  letter, 
written  on  delicate  paper  in  a  delicate 
hand,  and  it  showed  much  wear.  He 
read  for  the  thousandth  time : 

3 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

DEAREST  JIM — And  again  I  must 
say  "no."  Of  course  you  will  not  un- 
derstand, for  which  foolish  reason  I 
like  you  all  the  better,  but  you  must  try 
to  take  my  point  of  view.  You  say  that 
we  can  be  married  on  nothing  and  take 
our  chances. 

So  we  can,  old  simple-heart — but 
aren't  those  chances  all  against  us? 
Would  you  like  to  be  forced  to  work  in 
some  office  for  just  enough  to  live  on? 
You  know  you  would  not,  and  you 
know  how  you  would  suffer  in  such 
slavery. 

Nevertheless  we  can  not  live  on  air, 
and  I  doubt  if  I  would  stand  transplant- 
ing to  the  wild  life  you  love,  better  than 
4 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

you  to  a  clerk's  desk.  You  have  that 
fancy  which  gilds  the  tin  cans  in  the 
back  yard ;  I  have  that  unfortunate  eye 
which  would  multiply  their  number  by 
three,  and  their  unsightliness  by  ten. 
I  don't  want  riches,  dear;  I  only  want 
a  modest  assurance  that  I  can  have 
enough  to  live  on. 

Really,  is  your  way  of  doing  a  guar- 
antee of  even  bread  and  butter?  In  the 
Garden  of  Eden  you  would  be  the  most 
delightful  of  companions,  but  in  this 
world  as  it  is,  you  will  not  fight  for  your 
own.  You  would  risk  your  life  to  save 
a  dog,  but  you  couldn't  stay  at  a  con- 
tinued grind — I  mean  it  would  kill 
you,  actually,  physically,  dead,  dead — 

5 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

to  save  all  of  us.  At  first  I  thought  that 
a  fault  in  you,  but  now,  being  older, 
having  compared  you  to  other  men,  I 
see  it  is  merely  a  missing  faculty. 

I  could  stick  to  the  desk,  and  would 
gladly,  if  you  would  let  me,  yet  I  could 
not  even  fancy  behaving  as  you  did  at 
the  factory  fire,  which  is  still  the  sym- 
bol in  the  town  for  manly  courage  and 
presence  of  mind. 

They  talk  now  of  the  way  you 
laughed  and  joked  with  those  poor 
frightened  girls  (who  had  such  good 
cause  to  be  frightened)  and  brought 
them  back  to  sanity  with  a  jest.  I  feel 
that  if  I  had  the  least  atom  of  heroism 
in  me  I  would  marry  you  for  that  feat 
6 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

alone,  and  let  cold  facts  go  hang;  but, 
ah,  Jim!  magnificent  as  you  are  on  the 
grand  occasions,  they  come  but  seldom, 
and  in  the  meantime,  Jim — I'll  leave 
that  to  your  own  honesty. 

I'm  plebeian,  Jim,  and  you're  a 
nobleman,  with  a  beautiful  but  embar- 
rassing disregard  for  vulgar  necessi- 
ties. 

However,  I  can  say  this  for  myself — 
for  surely  I  may  brag  a  little  to  my 
lover — I  can  try  to  match  your  splen- 
did physical  bravery  by  my  own  moral 
courage. 

You  may  rest  your  soul  in  peace  on 
one  point.  If  I  am  not  for  you,  I'm  for 
no  man,  no,  not  so  much  as  a  half- 

7 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

glance  of  the  eye.  I  wouldn't  hold  my- 
self a  bit  more  straitly  if  I  were  your 
wife. 

You'll  be  angry  at  this  letter.  Well, 
I'll  stand  your  anger.  I  have  caused  it, 
and  I'll  bear  the  blame.  I  know  that 
we  could  not  be  happy  without  some 
visible  means  of  support,  yet  I  do  not 
blame  you  in  the  least  for  thinking 
otherwise. 

Be  as  kind  to  me  as  you  can,  Jim, 
for  I  love  you  very  much  in  my  com- 
monplace way.  I'll  admit,  too,  that  I 
had  rather  have  your  fire  than  my  re- 
frigerator— oh,  if  you  could  only  make 
some  money — not  a  great  deal,  but 
enough  for  a  little  house  of  our  own, 
8 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

and  enough  in  the  bank  to  buy  gro- 
ceries ! 

With  my  best  love,  and  an  aching 
lump  in  my  throat, 

Your  mother,  sister,  and  sweetheart, 

ANNE. 

Jim  dropped  the  letter,  and  his  lips 
trembled  a  little.  Parts  of  it  touched 
him  deeply,  and  he  was  the  more  en- 
raged and  hurt  at  the  rest  because  of 
that. 

He  could  not  call  her  mercenary. 
He  knew  better.  More  than  one  very 
comfortable  income  was  at  her  dis- 
posal. 

Poor  fellow  I  He  could  only  grind 
9 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

his  teeth  and  curse  Sweet  Briar  gulch 
from  the  deepest  pot-hole  in  the  bed- 
rock to  the  top  of  its  loftiest  pine. 
He  drew  out  her  photograph,  and  ob- 
tained much  sweet  consolation  by 
thinking  how  happy  they  twro  would 
be  in  Sweet  Briar  gulch  together,  even 
if  there  wasn't  a  cent  of  pay  in  the 
gravel. 

Sick  of  this  ingenious  torture,  he 
lit  his  pipe  and  drew  savagely  upon 
it.  With  a  mocking  gurgle,  about  a 
dram  of  "slumgullion"  passed  into 
his  mouth.  It  was  the  last  touch.  He 
spat  out  the  biting,  nauseating  stuff, 
hurled  the  pipe  upon  the  rocks  and 
danced  on  it. 

10 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

And  yet  the  colors  frolicked  in  the 
gulch;  the  pines  toned  the  air  with 
healthy  breath. 

From  afar  came  the  th-r-r-up! 
th-r-r-up!  th-r-r-up  of  a  galloping 
horse.  It  was  Bud,  the  mail-carrier, 
coming,  modestly  and  quietly,  at  a  de- 
cent gait,  down  a  trail  where  most 
would  prefer  to  walk,  and  to  "hang  on" 
to  something  at  that. 

At  first  Jim  felt  irritated  by  the  in- 
terruption. He  wanted  to  luxuriate  in 
misery :  still  he  was  a  vigorous,  healthy 
man,  and  the  cheery  good-fellowship 
of  Bud  soon  made  away  with  that  feel- 
ing. 

"Well,  how  they  coming,  Jimmy?" 
ir 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

queried  the  young  giant.  "Hit  her 
yet?" 

"Hit — well,  much  caloric," — re- 
plied Jim.  "I've  begun  to  believe  there 
ain't  a  durned  thing  here." 

"You're  looking  kind  of  owly,  old 
man — what's  up?  Don't  you  feel 
well?" 

"Oh,  Bud!  I'm  sick  of  everything 
this  day — I  don't  believe  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  including 
the  thirteenth  amendment,  nor  the  ten 
commandments,  nor  the  attraction  of 
gravitation,  nor  anything  else — it's  all 
a  damned  lie." 

"No  wonder  you  get  like  that,  mous- 
ing around  here  without  a  chance  to 
12 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

yappi  with  a  feller  critter.  'Nough  to 
make  you  locoed. 

"Jump  it  for  a  spell.  Go  up  town. 
Get  loaded.  Get  horribly  loaded. 
Break  somebody's  window,  and  tell  the 
folks  you're  a  Sweet  Briar  zephyr  come 
to  blow  out  their  lights.  Go  ahead  and 
(do  it.  When  your  hair  stops  pulling 
you'll  feel  like  a  new  man." 

Jim  thought  the  advice  sound,  yet  a 
strange  feeling  had  developed  in  him, 
in  his  isolation ;  it  was  that  the  eye  of 
Anne  was  always  on  him.  He  had 
fallen  into  a  habit,  which  becomes  a  su- 
perstition when  a  man  is  alone,  of  act- 
ing as  though  she  were  there  in  person. 

However,  he  didn't  feel  called  upon 

13 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

to  offer  Bud  that  explanation  of  his  re- 
fusal. He  conveyed  the  idea  in  one 
brief  word. 

"Busted,"  said  he. 

"Busted?"  retorted  Bud  warmly. 
"Busted?  Not  much,  you  ain't  busted 
whilst  that  little  package  is  there,  bet 
cher  life !  You  call  for  what  you  want, 
and  the  cashier  will  make  good." 

"Ah,  Bud!  How'll  I  ever  pay  you 
back?  Keep  it,  man,  keep  it,"  replied 
Jim  in  a  disheartened  voice. 

"Say,  you  ain't  got  no  call  to  worry 
about  that  part  of  it — there's  where  my 
troubles  begin,"  returned  Bud.  "Now, 
you  take  these  two  bucks  and  jab  'em  in 
your  jeans — Go  on,  now!  Do  as  I  tell 

«4 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

you,  or  damned  if  I  don't  lick  you  and 
make  you  take  'em!  What's  the  good 
of  money  if  it  ain't  to  help  a  friend  out 
with?  I  don't  care  who  gets  drunk  on 
it,  just  so  long  as  they  have  a  good  time. 

"Boy,  you'll  be  sailing  up  the  track 
regardless  of  orders,  with  your  boiler 
full  of  suds,  if  you  don't  get  out  in  the 
scramble  for  a  while." 

"Lord!  I'd  like  to  see  a  railroad 
train!  Haven't  heard  a  whistle  for  two 
years !  How  far  is  it  to  the  nearest  sta- 
tion, Bud?" 

"Plattsburg  — fifty  mile  — due 
south." 

"Christmas!  Little  far  to  walk." 

"Say,  you  take  this  horse,  Jim, — go 

15 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

ahead!  I  can  walk  just  as  well  as  not, 
I'm  getting  too  fat,  anyhow.  Go  on, 
you  take  the  horse  and  have  a  ride  to 
Plattsburg!" 

"Yes,  take  the  shirt  off  your  back, 
and  never  mind  if  a  bit  of  the  skin  goes 
with  it.  I'll  see  you  far  away  first.  Tell 
you  what  you  could  do  for  me,  Buddy; 
the  herd  of  burros  is  around  now,  if 
you'd  round  up  one  of  them  for  me?" 

"Sure  thing!  You  sit  on  the  mail 
sack  till  I  come  back.  There's  a  heap 
of  registered  stuff  in  it  this  trip.  Oh 
say!  What  do  you  think?  I  was  held 
up  t'other  side  of  the  Bulldog.  Bang! 
Zipp!  says  a  little  popper  from  the 
bushes.  I  climbed  for  them  bushes,  and 
16 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

out  goes  a  beggar  like  a  rabbit.  I  was 
after  him  like  a  coyote,  bet  cher  life. 
Who  do  you  suppose  it  was,  Jim?" 

"Hang  it,  how  should  I  know?" 

"That  little  down-east  cuss  with  the 
crook  in  his  back.  He  begged  hard. 
Poor  devil,  he  was  up  against  the  sand- 
paper side,  all  right.  He  heard  from 
the  postmaster  that  there  was  a  lot  of 
valuable  mail  going  out,  so  he  thought 
he'd  make  a  try  for  it.  Then  what  do 
you  think  he  had  the  cold,  cold  nerve 
to  do?" 

"Pass  it  up — 'most  anything,  I 
reckon." 

"Worse'n  that.  Struck  me  for  fifty!" 

"And  got  it." 

17 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

"Got  it?  No,  not  much  he  didn't, 
sonny!  He  drew  just  ten,  and  he  was 
lucky  to  get  that.  I've  done  a  favor  or 
two  for  that  feller,  first  and  last,  and 
to  have  him  shoot  at  me  made  me  sore 
— although  he  missed  me  by  several  lo- 
cations, I'll  say  that  for  him — so  I  gave 
him  the  ten  and  told  him  I'd  kick  the 
hump  on  his  back  so  high  up  on  his 
shoulders  he  could  wear  it  for  a  hat, 
if  he  ever  shoved  into  my  daylight 
again.  And  you  never  in  your  life  saw 
a  humpback  make  better  time  than  he 
did. 

"Well  here's  for  your  jack-ass — 
which  way's  the  herd?" 

"Right  up  over  the  hill." 
18 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Jim  sat  patiently  on  the  sack  until 
Bud  returned  with  the  burro. 

"Here's  your  thoroughbred!"  hol- 
loed Bud.  "Get  ap,  there,  Mary.  Look 
at  the  knowing  ears  of  him,  will  you? 
You  bet  cher  life,  you've  got  an  animile 
there  that'll  go  when  he  gets  ready,  and 
as  fast  as  he  pretty  well  damn  pleases — 
nail  him!" 

Jim  tied  a  gunny  sack  on  his  noble 
mount,  and  the  two  rode  on  together  to 
the  fork  in  the  trail.  Jim  tried  to  thank 
his  friend,  who  knocked  his  hat  over 
his  eyes,  and  said,  "Aw,  write  it  down 
when  you've  got  more  time.  Never  see 
a  feller  in  my  life  I  cottoned  to  more'n 
you,  Jim.  First  I  thought  you  was  too 
19 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

smooth  for  my  kind  of  traveling,  but 
later,  I  see  it  was  only  the  grain  of  the 
wood.  I  believe  in  my  friends,  I  do. 
Here  we  go  hopping  around  this  little 
world  for  a  small  time,  and  then  that's 
done.  S'pose  you  ain't  got  any  real 
friends  for  the  trip?  Rotten,  I  say. 
You  go  ahead  and  rip  Plattsburg  up 
the  back.  Wisht  I  could  be  there  with 
you.  Don't  you  mind  consequences.  So 
long,  old  man!  Hike!  You  beggar!" 
The  buckskin  pony  was  off  with  a  snort 
and  a  splashing  of  gravel  as  the  irons 
touched  his  sides,  and  Bud  vanished 
down  the  road  without  a  look  behind 
him. 

The  next  day  Jim  was  in  Plattsburg. 
20 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

One  does  not  know  what  an  alluring 
quality,  what  a  hazy  enchantment  can 
linger  around  even  a  small  town,  until 
an  absence  in  a  real  wilderness  has 
given  man's  work  a  new  flavor. 

The  people  coming  and  going,  the 
traffic  of  the  stores,  the  dwellings  with 
small  cultivated  plots  around  them 
warmed  Jim  like  a  fire.  He  had  been 
very  lonely,  without  knowing  it.  In  the 
afternoon  he  went  down  to  the  depot  to 
see  the  eastern  train  come  in. 

'Here  again  absence  played  a  part, 
and  restored  the  locomotive  to  its 
proper  proportions  of  a  miracle. 

As  the  engine  glided  in,  shaking  the 
ground  beneath  it,  it  seemed  impossible 
21 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

to  Jim  that  man  really  made  it.  What! 
Bend  those  mighty  rods  of  steel  to  his 
will?  Twist  and  shape  those  others? 
Cast  those  great  drivers?  And  after, 
to  drive  the  monster  with  a  hand? 

He  drew  back  as  the  buzzing  engine 
passed  him,  with  something  like  awe. 
Then  the  moving  village  came  to  a  stop 
and  the  passengers  sallied  forth  to  test 
their  legs,  wearied  with  long  sitting. 

There  was  humanity  of  all  shades, 
from  the  haughty  aristocrat  of  the 
Pullman,  to  the  peasant  of  the  immi- 
grant car. 

Jim  had  a  sense  of  pleasure  in  be- 
holding well-dressed  folk  again;  yet  it 
was  merely  an  aesthetic  pleasure,  for 
22 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

he  found,  when  he  began  to  speculate 
on  the  possibilities  of  the  throng  be- 
fore him,  that  he  was  more  interested 
in  those  whose  all  was  staked  on  the 
trip,  than  in  those  to  whom  it  was  only 
an  excursion. 

People  of  widely  differing  nationali- 
ties occupied  the  immigrant  car.  Jim 
wondered  whether  they  would  ever  be- 
come Americans,  according  to  his 
ideas  of  Americans,  a  people  in  which 
he  had  great  pride  and  delight;  and 
he  shook  his  head  doubtfully  as  he  took 
them  in. 

Suddenly  a  small  boy  darted  out  of 
a  car;  an  exceedingly  small  boy,  thin  to 
emaciation,  who  made  his  way  through 
23 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

the  crowd  with  that  sprawling,  active, 
dancing  manner  peculiar  to  thin  small 
boys  and  spiders. 

Jim  half  laughed  at  the  little  chap 
until  he  saw  his  face ;  then  he  realized 
at  a  glance  that  the  matter  was  no 
laughing  one  for  the  boy. 

At  the  same  time  he  saw  the  shocking 
thinness  of  the  little  face,  made  into  a 
wolfs  face  by  hunger;  the  mingled 
horror  and  desperation  of  the  eyes ;  the 
big  man  would  not  have  believed  a 
child's  face  could  express  emotions  of 
such  magnitude.  He  was  wonder- 
stricken  at  the  sight,  and  felt  an  in- 
stinctive sympathy  for  the  fugitive. 

It  is  a  strange  thing  how  fortune  will 
24 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

sometimes  guide  with  certainty,  when 
reason  shows  no  path. 

The  boy  came  unerringly  toward 
Jim;  Jim  had  a  sort  of  prophetic  in- 
sight that  he  would.  Back  behind  him 
the  urchin  ran.  "Don't  cher  give  me 
away,  Mister!"  he  pleaded.  Jim 
flapped  a  hand  in  answer. 

At  the  time  he  was  leaning  against 
a  corner  of  the  station ;  a  little  back  of 
him  was  a  small  lean-to  shed  where 
various  truck  was  stored. 

Out  of  the  car  came  a  burly  brute  of 
a  man,  who  stared  about  him  rapidly. 

"Dat's  der  oP  man,"  whispered  the 
boy.  "If  he  gits  holt  of  me,  there  won't 
be  a  hull  bone  left  in  me  body." 

25 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

The  man  walked  up  to  the  conductor 
and  spoke  to  him. 

"Aggh!"  said  the  boy.  "Now  dey'll 
get  me  sure — der  jig  is  up — dey'll  have 
der  hull  gang  ertop  o'  me!"  the  voice 
trailed  off  into  a  strangled  sob,  and 
then  continued  in  a  fierce  whisper: 
"Aggh!  If  I  had  me  growth,  I'd  show 
'em!  I'd  show  'em!"  and  then  a  burst 
of  hair-raising  profanity. 

The  argument  was  growing  loud  be- 
tween the  man,  who  was  urging  some- 
thing, and  the  conductor,  who  was  de- 
clining; others  were  walking  toward 
the  moderate  excitement. 

Jim  wheeled  and  caught  the  boy  in 
his  arms.  "Up  you  go!"  he  said,  and 
26 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

tossed  him  on  top  of  the  shed.  "Lie 
low  behind  the  wood  there,  and  you  are 
all  right." 

Then  came  the  conductor's  voice: 
"Say,  my  friend,  if  you  think  I'm  going 
to  hold  my  train  while  you  hunt  up  a 
lost  kid,  there's  something  in  you  that 
don't  work  right!  Why  didn't  you  take 
care  of  him  while  you  had  him?  Now 
you've  got  just  four  minutes  by  the 
watch ;  either  hustle  around  and  hunt, 
or  drop  off  the  train  and  hunt — what's 
that?  Now  don't  you  give  me  any 
slack,  you  black-muzzled  tarrier,  or 
I'll  have  the  fear  of  God  thrown  into 
you  too  quick.  Get  out  of  here  nowl 
Get  out  of  my  way  I" 
27 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

The  man  slouched  off,  and  made  a 
hasty  search  around  the  station.  A! 
woman's  face — scarcely  an  improve- 
ment on  the  man's — leaned  out  of  the 
car  window  and  jeered  at  the  hunter, 
who  cursed  her  back  savagely. 

The  man  walked  up  to  Jim.  "Say, 
did  yer  see  a  kid  go  by  here,  Mister?" 

With  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders,  Jim 
asked  him  that  question  in  Mr.  Ollen- 
dorf's  French  method,  about  the  pink- 
and-green  overcoat  of  the  shoemaker's 
wife's  sister. 

The  man  showered  low  abuse  on 
what  he  supposed  was  a  foreigner,  until 
Jim's  ribs  rose  with  the  desire  to  kill 
him. 

28 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"Ayr,  wot  are  yer  wastin'  time  wid 
th'  Dago  fur?"  called  the  woman. 
"Th'  kid's  on  the  roof!"  Jim's  heart 
almost  stopped,  so  thoroughly  had  he 
identified  himself  with  this  quarrel. 
He  made  up  his  mind  to  fight  for  the 
boy,  right  or  wrong. 

But  he  was  saved  the  trouble.  It  was 
only  a  jest  of  the  woman's,  for  she  sud- 
denly called,  so  earnestly  that  even  Jim 
was  fooled.  "No  he  ain't  neither;  I 
see  him!  I  see  him!  There  he  is."  It 
was  the  perfection  of  acting,  voice  and 
gesture. 

The  man  ran  out  to  see  where  she  was 
pointing.     "Where  is  he?"  he  asked, 
looking  wildly  around. 
29 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

"On  top  der  flag-pole,  like  er  mon- 
key! You're  it!"  she  cried,  with  a 
shriek  of  laughter  at  the  black  brows  of 
her  dupe. 

"I'll  show  yer  der  joke,  when  I  git 
in  dere!"  he  threatened. 

The  woman  leaned  her  chin  on  her 
hands  and  smiled.  Jim  never  forgot 
the  utter  undauntedness,  impudence 
and  malice  of  that  face.  "Yer  allus 
goin'  to  do  sumpin',  Pete!"  she  retorted. 
"Yer'll  be  a  man  yet." 

A  more  amiable  man  than  "Pete" 
might  have  been  provoked  by  such  con- 
duct. He  strode  forward  with  white- 
knuckled  fists  and  a  very  unpleasant 
expression  on  his  face.  Several  men 
30 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

started  to  interfere,  but  it  wasn't  neces- 
sary. 

The  woman  quietly  looked  at  her 
bully,  chewing  a  straw  with  the  utmost 
nonchalance.  "Give  us  a  kiss,"  said  she. 
The  man's  crest  dropped.  He  said 
something  in  an  undertone,  and  got  on 
the  car. 

Jim  needed  no  further  knowledge  of 
this  delightful  couple  to  be  thoroughly 
on  the  boy's  side.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
the  man  was  quite  capable  of  keeping 
a  small  animal  at  hand,  for  the  fun  of 
torturing  it,  and  as  for  the  woman — 
well,  if  there  was  her  like  in  hell,  Jim 
determined  to  be  good  for  the  rest  of 
his  days. 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

"All  aboard!"  cried  the  conductor, 
and  with  a  few  mighty  breaths  the  iron 
giant  whisked  its  load  out  in  the  open 
again. 

"Stay  where  you  are,  son,  till  I  see 
whether  that  fellow  is  playing  a  trick," 
said  Jim,  and  not  until  he  had  looked 
under  the  platform,  up  and  down  the 
track,  and  in  the  waiting  rooms,  did  he 
give  the  command,  "Come  down!" 


II 


THE  passenger  agent  saw  the  per- 
formance    with     astonishment. 
"So  you  had  the  boy  tucked  away  all 
the  time?"  said  he.  "Just  what  kind  of 
a  game  is  this?" 

"Dunno,"  returned  Jim.  "Let  the 
boy  speak  for  himself.  Now,  young 
man,  what's  the  matter?" 

The  urchin  stood  before  them,  tak- 
ing them  in  thoroughly  with  his  sharp 
little  eyes.    More  big  men  strolled  up. 
33 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

As  a  particularly  fine  foil  to  the  boy's 
diminutive  form,  Benny,  the  baggage 
smasher,  whose  overhanging  shoulders 
testified  whence  came  the  power  that 
had  reduced  many  a  proud  Saratoga  to 
elemental  conditions,  and  "Happy 
Jack,"  the  mammoth,  soot-black,  loose- 
jointed  negro  porter,  placed  them- 
selves on  either  side  of  him.  They 
made  the  boy  look  more  like  an  insect 
than  ever. 

"Wot's  de  matter?"  he  cried  in  a 
voice  at  once  hoarse  and  shrill,  with  a 
cursing  note  in  it,  and  accompanying 
the  words  with  an  extravagant,  dra- 
matic gesture  of  his  skinny  claw.  "I'll 
tell  yer  wot's  der  matter — dey  beat  me 

34 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

— dey  beat  me  bad.  I  don't  ast  youse 
to  take  me  word  fur  it — look  at  me 
back — dat's  all  I  ast  yer — jes'  look  at 
rdat!" 

He  ripped  the  shirt  from  his  shoul- 
ders. An  angry  growl  went  up  from 
all  those  big-bearded  men  when  they 
saw  the  horrible  stripes  and  welts — 
raw,  blue  and  swollen — on  the  poor 
little  back. 

Happy  Jack  threw  up  both  his 
gorilla  arms.  "Lord  Jesus!  Who  done 
you  like  dat,  boy?"  he  cried.  "  'F  I  got 
m'  hookers  on  him,  cuss  me  'f  I  wud- 
Hen'  put  bumps  on  him  bigger'n  yer 
hull  body." 

"Now  yer  talkin',"  shrieked  the  boy. 
35 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

He  raised  himself  to  the  tips  of  his  toes, 
bared  his  teeth  to  the  gum,  and  with 
clutching  talons,  gripping  at  the  air, 
yelled:  "Aggh!  If  I  had  me  growth  1 
I'd  bite  his  heart  out!  I'd  tear  his  neck 
for'iml" 

The  men  looked  astounded  on  this 
mighty  fury,  pent  in  so  small  and  mis- 
erable a  cage.  The  voice  had  a  pe- 
culiar alarming  call  to  it,  like  the  note 
of  a  fire-gong. 

Suddenly  the  boy's  head  dropped  on 
the  crook  of  his  arm.  "Treated  me 
wuss'n  a  dog,"  he  sobbed  out.  "Done 
me  so  it  makes  even  dat  nigger  holler 
when  he  sees  it." 

Happy  Jack  was  taken  aback.    The 

36 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

other  men  smoothed  down  their  faces 
forcibly. 

"Say,  HP  boy,  you  think  dat's  a  p'lite 
way  to  talk  to  people?"  inquired  Jack. 

The  boy  wiped  his  eyes  on  his  sleeve 
and  went  over  to  him.  "Say,  don't  yer 
holt  nothin'  ag'in  me  fur  der  word," 
said  he.  "DeyVe  got  me  looney — dat's 
wot — yer've  used  me  liker  fren';  and 
if  it  hoits  yer,  yer  can  kick  me  pants  fur 
me,  and  I  won't  say  nuthinV 

"Well,  there's  two-pound-and-a-half 
of  dead  game  sport  for  you,  all  right!" 
cried  Benny.  "Good  eye,  kid!" 

Happy  Jack  smiled  a  mollified  smile 
eight  inches  wide.  "You  is  all  right, 
beau,"  said  he.  "An'  as  fur  as  my  bein' 
37 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

a  nigger's  concerned,  I'll  admit  my 
kerplection  ain't  light."  He  slapped 
his  ham  and  brought  down  a  foot  on 
the  platform.  "Hyah,  hyah!"  he 
roared,  "you  bet  dere  ain't  no  dam' 
blond  'bout  me!" 

The  infectious  darky  laugh  started 
the  others  off,  and  brought  matters  to  a 
common-sense  footing. 

The  passenger  agent  took  up  the  in- 
terrogation. Was  the  man  the  boy's 
real  father?  Answer:  "How'd  I  know? 
Dat's  der  song  he  guv  me."  Were 
there  any  relatives?  Friends?  Answer: 
"Naw!"  Well,  what  did  the  boy  pro- 
pose to  do?  Answer,  digging  his  toes 
into  the  boards:  "Didn't  know — any- 

38 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

t'ing!"  What  was  his  name?  "Jim." 
Jim  what?  "Didn't  know.  Sometimes 
der  gun  callt  himself  'Darragh,'  an7 
sometimes  'Mullen,'  an'  sometimes 
'Smit.'  Aggh!  He  callt  himself  the 
foist  t'ing  dat  come  to  his  tongue — he 
didn't  have  no  real  name." 

The  agent  talked  to  him  a  bit  more, 
winding  up  by  saying  kindly:  "You've 
had  a  pretty  rough  time  of  it,  Jimmy, 
and  we'd  all  like  to  give  you  a  lift — 
now,  just  say  what  you'd  like  to  do, 
and  maybe  we  can  fix  it." 

"I'd  like  to  go  along  wid  dat  feller, 
'f  he'll  take  me,"  replied  the  boy,  toss- 
ing a  thumb  toward  Jim  Felton.  There 
was  a  becoming  access  of  shyness  in  his 
39 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

manner;  moreover,  Felton  had  an  in- 
creased interest  in  him  when  he  knew 
they  bore  the  same  name — a  sort  of 
kinship,  as  it  were. 

"Well,  it's  up  to  you,  Mister — "  said 
the  passenger  agent,  with  a  smile. 

"Felton,"  said  Jim.  "I'm  in.  I'll 
take  the  boy.  Hard  rustling  down  my 
way,  but  I  guess  we  can  make  out  some- 
how. Sure  you  want  to  go,  kid?" 

"Yessir!"  very  heartily. 

"Done,  then!" 

Happy  Jack  snatched  off  his  uniform 
cap,  spat  on  a  bill,  and  flapped  it  into 
the  bottom  thereof. 

"Good-by,  fren'l"  said  he.  He  shook 
the  cap  in  front  of  the  others.  "Here's 
40 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

fur  the  lil'  rooster;  step  up  to  the  cap- 
en's  office  an'  settle,  gents!"  he  called. 
"  'Member  what  de  Bible  says,  Tool 
an'  his  money  soon  parted.'  Come  up! 
Come  up!" 

They  came  up  generously. 

"Stick  a  five  in  there  for  me,  Biil,n 
said  Benny  to  the  passenger  agent. 
"I'm  strapped." 

"How  much  you  got,  boy?"  asked 
the  agent,  as  Happy  counted  the 
money. 

"Fo'ty  dollars,  even  money,  Misto' 
Breckenridge."  The  agent  was  a  bach- 
elor with  a  fat  salary.  "Here,  that 
makes  it  fifty,"  said  he.  He  turned  to 
Felton.  "Now,  what  do  you  say  if  we 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

go  across  the  street  and — er — discuss 
this  matter  a  little  further?" 

"Go  you,"  replied  Felton. 

"Now,  Jimmy,  you  sit  here  for  a  mo- 
ment. We're  going  on  some  business." 

The  boy  glanced  at  them  sharply. 
"Youse  fellers  is  goin'  to  get  a  drink," 
said  he. 

Those  big  men  put  their  hands  on 
their  sides  and  roared. 

"You'll  find  that  kid  worse  than  a 
wife,  Felton!"  said  the  agent. 

"No  use  of  our  being  hypocrites  to 
the  little  chap.  I  reckon  he's  seen 
worse  things  than  the  inside  of  a  saloon. 
Come  along,  laddybuck." 

They  lined  up  and  partook.  The 
42 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

pgent  told  the  story  of  the  waif.  "And 
we  started  him  off  with  fifty,  Mac,"  he 
said  to  the  saloon-keeper.  "Suppose 
you  break  away  from  some  of  your  ill- 
gotten  gains  in  the  good  cause." 

The  saloon-keeper  opened  his  cash 
'drawer  without  words  and  slid  over  a 
five-dollar  bill.  He  seemed  very  glad 
to  part  with  it. 

"Confound  it!  Now  we're  upsticks 
again,"  said  the  agent.  "Tell  you  what 
let's  do.  Here's  ten  of  us.  Each  man 
put  up  a  two,  and  we'll  shake  the  dice 
to  see  who  gives  it  to  the  kid — winner 
to  set  'em  up.  That'll  make  seventy- 
five — a  very  respectable  figure." 

They  played  a  new  interesting  dice- 

43 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

game,  in  which  the  figure  of  a  pig 
drawn  in  chalk  upon  the  bar  furnished 
the  "lay-out."  It  is  a  game  which  in- 
creases in  interest  to  the  last  throw. 
They  stuck  the  saloon-keeper,  and  were 
gleeful. 

"We  ought  to  name  the  boy,"  said 
Felton,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  sec- 
ond refreshment.  "My  name's  Jim, 
and  I  want  something  else  to  call  him 
by.  I'll  make  him  a  present  of  my  last 


name." 


"Gad,  that's  so!"  replied  the  agent. 

"Call  him  Chescheela  Jim,"  put  in  a 
cow-man.  "That's  Injun  for  'little 
Jim.'  'Ches'  ain't  a  bad  nickname." 

"Mac,  hand  over  one  of  those  toy 
44 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

sample  bottles  of  California  fizz,"  said 
the  agent.  "We'll  put  this  craft  down 
the  ways  in  shape." 

Felton  broke  the  neck  off  the  bottle 
with  a  tack-hammer  and  poured  the 
wine  on  the  boy's  head.  "I  christen 
thee  Chescheela  James  Felton — may 
you  become  a  good  seaworthy  craft, 
and  not  fill  your  skin  with  this  stuff 
when  you  grow  up,"  said  he  dramat- 
ically. 

The  small  boy  squinted  up  his  eyes 
to  keep  the  wine  out ;  then  he  shook  the 
liquid  from  his  hair,  looked  up  and 
grinned. 

"Youse  fellers  is  reg'lar  kids,"  said 
he. 

45 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

"Lord,  that's  a  great  boy!"  said  the 
agent.  "He's  the  oldest  man  in  the 
crowd.  Say,  let's  give  him  a  white 
man's  start,  beginning  with  a  bath." 

The  whole  party  went  to  the  barber- 
shop and  made  the  darky  proprietor 
dispense  a  bath  and  a  hair-cut  for  noth- 
ing. 

"Shave,  sir?"  asked  the  latter,  when 
the  hair  had  been  properly  trimmed. 

"No,"  replied  the  youth.  "I  t'ink 
I'll  let  me  whiskers  grow.  Dere's  enuff 
wind  in  dis  country  ter  keep  der  moths 
outen  'em." 

Then  they  raided  the  clothing  store, 
and  abused  the  Hebrew  owner  until  he 
reduced  the  price.  "Oof  der  lodt — 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

everyding,  shennelmun!  Sigsdy  ber 
zent.  Dere's  no  broffit  left — it  doaned 
bay  fur  the  freight." 

"Look  here.  Sol!  Will  you  swear 
that  on  a  piece  of  pork?"  demanded  the 
agent.  The  Hebrew  moaned. 

"Doaned  dalk  to  me!"  he  cried.  "My 
heardt  iss  prooken!" 

Clean,  trimmed  and  clothed,  Ches- 
cheela  James  Felton  was  a  different 
looking  boy.  Months  only  could  take 
those  animal  lines  out  of  his  face,  and 
fresh  air  and  wholesome  food  fill  out 
the  hollows  of  the  cheeks,  but,  all  in 
all,  he  was  not  a  bad-looking  youngster. 

Jim  Felton  bought  some  supplies  for 
his  camp,  and  prepared  to  start  for 
47 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

home  that  afternoon,  as  they  could  yet 
make  fifteen  miles  before  dark. 

The  new  friends  of  the  morning  saw 
them  off  with  hearty  good-bys.  The 
boy  quite  unexpectedly  thanked  them 
for  their  treatment  and  the  money.  The 
poor  little  soul  had  heard  few  words  of 
gratitude,  and  had  less  chance  to  em- 
ploy them. 

His  speech  was  curious,  but  the  gen- 
erous big  men  saw  behind  the  words, 
and  felt  really  touched  by  the  old- 
child's  attempt  to  express  himself. 

The  two  Jims  soon  pushed  on, 
through  the  rolling  foot-hills  near  the 
town,  into  the  broken  country.  The 
boy  kept  watching,  watching,  but  said 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

little,  until  at  last  they  came  to  the  stu- 
pendous cliffs  of  Paha-Sahpedon,  over- 
hanging the  trail  with  dark  majesty. 
Jim  happened  to  glance  at  the  boy,  and 
saw  him  looking  up,  mouth  and  eyes 
wide  open. 

"Say,  Mister!"  gasped  Ches.  "Who 
built  them!" 

"Built?"  repeated  Jim,  puzzled. 
Then  he  understood.  "The  hand  of 
God,  my  boy,"  he  replied. 

The  urchin  shivered.  "I  feel  's  if 
dey  was  comin'  ertop  o'  me,"  he  gasped. 
"Let's  hook  it  outer  here." 

Jim  spanked  the  burro,  and  they  flew 
out  of  the  Paha-Sahpedon  at  a  canter. 

They    camped    that    night    in    the 

49 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

spruces  of  Silver  Creek,  in  one  of  the 
prettiest  little  places  that  ever  lay  out 
of  doors.  As  they  prepared  the  supper 
and  ate  it,  sharing  plate,  cup  and  spoon, 
the  boy  was  fairly  ecstatic. 

"Dis  is  der  bulliest  ol1  time  dat  ever  I 
had,"  said  he.  "I  didn't  know  dere 
was  places  like  dis  'tall,  'cept  Cintral 
Park.  Yer  can  run  aroun'  here  all  yer 
like,  can't  yer,  Mister?  Nobuddy'll 
stop  yer?" 

"Not  if  you  ran  a  thousand  miles, 
Ches.  This  is  the  free  land,  boy.  You 
can  do  what  you  like."  Jim  spoke  with 
warmth,  for,  although  he  felt  that  the 
child  could  not  understand,  yet  the  love 
of  the  country  swelled  in  him  so  hot 
50 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

that  he  could  never  speak  of  it  care- 
lessly. 

"Dat's  prutty  damn  good,"  respond- 
ed Ches. 

"It  is,"  replied  Jim.  "Now,  Ches, 
will  you  do  something  to  oblige  me?" 

"Sure!" 

"Well,  then,  don't  swear.  I  don't 
like  to  hear  boys  swear." 

"I  won't  cuss  another  cuss,  if  I  kin 
help  it.  Dey'll  come  out  too  quick  for 
me  sometimes,  but  I'll  try  to  do  dat, 


now." 


"Thank  you.  Now,  let's  get  the  stuff 
cleared  up  and  roll  in." 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  Jim  heard 
a  strange  noise,  a  puzzling  sound  he 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

could  not  trace.  Becoming  wider 
awake,  it  resolved  itself  into  a  stifled 
weeping. 

"Hello  there,  Ches!  What's  the  mat- 
ter?" he  cried. 

The  boy  flung  himself  into  Jim's 
arms  with  a  cry.  "Ar,  I'm  scart  to 
fdeat',"  said  he.  "Take  holt  uf  me,  Mis- 
ter !  Take  holt  uf  me !  Dere  ain't  any- 
t'ing  but  you  and  me  here  'tall !" 

Jim  gathered  up  the  trembling 
figure.  "Nothing  will  hurt  you,  Ches," 
he  said.  "You're  safe  here." 

"I  wasn't  t'inkin'  of  gettin'  hurted," 
retorted  the  boy,  with  shaky  indigna- 
tion. "Did  youse  t'ink  I'd  weaken  fur 
Hat?  Yer  don't  know  me,  den.  Dat 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

ain't  bodderin'  me — I've  been  hurted 
plenty.  I'm  just  scart,  dat's  wat's  der 
matter." 

"Well,  now,  you  cuddle  right  up  in 
my  arms,  like  a  little  puppy  dog,  and 
you'll  feel  all  right." 

"Say,  you're  prutty  good  stuff,  Mis- 
ter Felton,"  whimpered  the  little  voice. 
"Dis  is  der  bulliest  time  I  ever  had, 
even  if  I  am  scart." 

"I  think  you're  a  brave  boy,  Ches. 
Now  go  to  sleep." 

A  small  hand  reached  timidly 
around  until  it  found  the  man's  and 
gave  it  an  affectionate  squeeze.  "Good 
night,  sir,"  said  Ches. 

Jim  lay  awake,  thinking  dreamily, 

53 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

long  after  the  boy's  regular  breathing 
showed  that  he  was  at  peace  again. 
The  man  felt  a  tenderness  for  the  waif 
so  abruptly  put  in  his  care  that  only  a 
lonely  man  can  feel.  He  speculated 
about  the  boy's  future;  he  wondered 
what  kind  of  a  man  he  would  make. 
Surely,  with  a  foundation  of  such  cour- 
age, the  better  part  could  be  brought 
out. 

Then  he  wondered  what  Anne 
would  say  to  the  adoption,  or  rather 
what  advice  she  would  give,  for  he  felt 
entirely  sure  of  her  broad  humanity, 
outside  of  their  one  difference.  He  felt 
the  need  of  her  practical  sense.  Soon  he 
had  drifted  into  thinking  of  Anne  en- 

54 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

tirely.  Not  bitterly  now,  but  with  a 
steady  longing.  The  gray  light  of  the 
waning  moon,  sifting  through  the 
boughs,  was  the  true  lumina  for  reverie. 
Why  had  he  not  answered  her  letter? 
Perhaps  by  this  time — 

What  was  that  moving  in  the  grass? 
He  had  noticed  a  sort  of  something 
before.  He  threw  up  his  right  hand  in 
a  threatening  gesture,  to  frighten  the 
intruder  away. 

Instantly  he  got  his  answer,  and  an 
icy  wind  seemed  to  ruff  his  hair — that 
insistent,  dry,  shrilling  sound  that  will 
make  a  man's  blood  turn  cold  if  any- 
thing will — the  whirring  defiance  of  a 
rattlesnake! 

55 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

Jim  thought  quick  and  hard,  with 
chills  and  fever  coursing  over  him  ad 
libitum.  He  did  not  want  to  waken 
and  frighten  the  boy.  He  managed  to 
slip  his  arm  out  without  disturbing  the 
sleeper.  But  now!  There  wasn't  a 
club  around  except  the  short  sticks  of 
the  fire.  A  two-foot  stick  is  not  the 
proper  equipment  for  rattler  hunting, 
except  to  those  born  with  nerves  so 
strong  that  they  do  not  hesitate  to  catch 
Mr.  Crotalus  by  the  tail  and  snap  his 
head  off. 

Jim  thought  of  the  rope  he  had  used 
for  a  cinch,  and  made  for  it  with  his 
eye  on  the  snake,  lest  the  latter  should 
approach  closer  to  the  boy. 

56 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

With  a  deep  thankfulness  for  the 
heft  of  the  rope,  he  returned  and  struck 
with  all  the  strength  of  his  big  body, 
and  pounded  away  in  a  sort  of  crazy 
rage,  although  the  first  stroke  had  done 
the  business. 

He  snapped  the  sweat  from  his  brow 
as  he  looked  down  at  the  still  writhing 
reptile. 

"My  God!  What  might  have  hap- 
pened if  the  boy  hadn't  waked  me?"  he 
thought.  The  superstition  of  the  miner 
rose  in  him  rampant.  "I  believe  that 
kid's  going  to  bring  me  good  luck,"  he 
said.  "Darned  if  I  don't.  Well,  I 
could  stand  some." 

He  took  up  the  body  of  the  rattler 
57 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

on  a  stick  and  heaved  it  far  away,  then 
lit  his  pipe. 

"I  don't  think  I  care  for  any  more 
sleep  to-night,"  he  laughed.  "Like 
Ches,  it  ain't  that  anything  will  hurt 
me  out  here,  but  I'm  everlastingly 
scared." 

He  watched  the  night  out,  revelling 
in  his  enjoyment  of  the  mystery  of  the 
coming  morning,  that  phase  of  the  day 
which  never  ceases  to  be  unreal,  and 
which  calls  out  of  the  watcher  senti- 
ments and  emotions  he  is  a  stranger  to 
for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

The  sun  hung  on  the  sharp  point 
of  Old  Dog-Tooth  like  a  portent,  be- 
fore he  woke  the  boy. 

58 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Ches  was  all  amazement  for  a  sec- 
ond ;  then  he  gave  a  glad  cry. 

"Gee!  Yer  still  here,  ain't  yer?  No 
pipe  in  dis."  He  looked  all  around 
him.  "Say!  Dis  is  a  reg'lar  teeayter 
uf  er  place,  ain't  it?"  he  remarked. 
"Dis  is  der  scene  where  der  villun  al- 
most gits  der  gent  wid  der  sword,  if  der 
stage  mannecher  didn't  send  sumun 
ter  help  'im  out." 

Jim  laughed  at  the  sophisticated  in- 
fant. "You  don't  believe  in  the  theater 
much,  then,  Ches?" 

"Aggh!"  replied  Ches.  "If  it  ain't 
seven  it's  'leven  on  der  stage — but  it's 
mostly  craps  in  der  street." 

"Well,  son,  there  are  such  points  on 

59 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

the  'dice,"  admitted  Jim.  "But  let's 
have  something  to  eat  and  we'll  feel 
better." 

Ches  rustled  around  after  sticks  in 
his  funny,  angularly  active  style,  sing- 
ing a  song  the  while  from  the  gladness 
of  his  heart.  It  was  a  merry  song,  about 
mother  slowly  going  down  the  hectic 
path  of  phthisis  pulmonalis,  and  sister, 
who  has — one  is  led  to  believe — taken 
to  small  bottles,  small  hours  and  unde- 
sirable companions,  refusing  to  come 
home  and  lift  the  mortgage  which  is 
shortly  to  be  foreclosed — all  in  the  nar- 
row confines  of  twenty-five  verses. 

Jim  listened  to  the  inspiriting  ditty 
in  astonishment. 

60 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"  'Bird  of  the  wilderness,  blithesome 

and  cumberless, 
Sweet  be  thy  matin  o'er  moorland  and 

lea!'" 

he  quoted.  "For  Heaven's  sake,  child," 
he  continued,  in  some  irritation, 
"where  did  you  learn  that  echo  of  the 
morgue?" 

"Don't  you  like  'er?"  asked  Ches,  in 
his  turn  astonished  at  such  a  lack  of 
taste.  "W'y,  dat's  er  gig  in  der  city — 
everybuddy  an'  der  ginnies  wid  der  or- 
gans is  givin'  dat  out  all  day  long." 

"Well,  let  'em,"  commanded  Jim. 
"Don't  introduce  it  to  this  part  of  the 
country.  As  you  render  it,  through  the 
61 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

nose,  and  with  the  wail  at  the  end,  it  is 
a  thing  to  make  a  strong  man  lie  down 
and  give  up  the  ghost  in  sheer  disgust. 
Ches,  does  it  really  make  you  feel  good 
to  sing  it?" 

"Yessir — kinder,"  replied  Ches  hesi- 
tatingly. 

"Lord  !"  thought  Jim.  "What  a  life, 
to  make  a  song  like  that  a  recreation!" 
Then  aloud :  "It's  bad  luck  to  sing  be- 
fore breakfast,  Ches.  I'll  teach  you  a 
livelier  song  than  that  when  we  hit  the 
trail  again." 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  during  the 

first  miles  of  their  day's  journey  the 

way  was  enlivened  by  the  notes  of  The 

Arkansas     Traveler,     Garry     Owen, 

62 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Where's  My  Linda-Cinda  Gone? 
Baltimore  Girls,  and  other  songs  of  a 
lively  character. 

Ches  approved  of  these  in  modera- 
tion. Then  Jim  tried  an  experiment. 
With  a  serious  face,  but  half  an  eye  on 
the  boy,  he  howled,  moaned  and  grunt- 
ed The  Cow-boy's  Lament,  which 
still  presents  the  insoluble  problem  of 
whether  the  words  or  the  music  are 
drearier.  "OooooOOO ! ! !  Pla-a-ay 
your  fifes  l-o-o-wy-l-y,  a-a-nd  beee-eat 
your  drums  sl-o-o-o-wly,  and  play  the 
dead  m-a-arch  as  you  carry  me  o-o-o- 
on!"  mourned  Jim.  Ches  was  all  at- 
tention. "For  I'm  o-o-o-nly  a  p-o-o-o-r 
cow-boy,  and  I  know  I've  done  w-r-o- 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

o-o-o-o-ng!"  wailed  the  singer,  in  con- 
clusion. "How'd  you  like  that,  Ches?" 

"Say,  dat's  a  ringer!"  cried  the  boy 
enthusiastically. 

Jim  sat  him  down  by  the  roadside 
and  laughed  his  fill.  "I  think  you're 
hopeless,"  he  gasped. 

The  boy  was  hurt  in  a  way  he  could 
not  understand.  Something  pained 
him — a  new  sensation,  of  not  being  up 
to  the  requirements  of  another's  view. 
His  forced  acute  intelligence  made  a 
bull's-eye  shot. 

"P'r'aps  w'en  I've  got  er  chist  and 
t'umpers  on  me  like  you,  I'll  like  der 
udder  kin'  er  song,"  he  said. 

Jim  looked  at  the  pathetic  little  fig- 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

ure  on  the  burro,  and  his  conscience 
smote  him.  "That's  right,  boy,"  he  re- 
plied very  kindly.  "I  was  only  joking 
— ought  not  to  be  any  ill  feeling  be- 
tween friends  over  a  joke,  you  know. 
Now,  you  sing  ahead  all  you  plenty 
please." 

"Don't  say  nuttin'  more  about  it,"  re- 
plied Ches.  "It's  all  square." 

A  little  farther  on  Jim  noticed  a 
piece  of  quartz  outcrop  with  a  metal 
stain  on  it.  Now,  a  miner  can  no  more 
pass  such  a  thing  than  some  others 
could  refuse  to  pick  up  the  pin  shining 
at  their  feet,  so  he  took  a  stone  and 
hammered  off  a  specimen  for  future 
reference.  In  the  meantime  Ches,  on 

65 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

the  burro,  got  around  the  turn  of  the 
trail. 

Suddenly  the  boy  set  up  a  shout  of 
excitement.  "Oh,  Mister!"  he  yelled, 
with  a  string  of  profanity,  his  promise 
forgotten  in  his  heat.  "Come  quick, 
an'  look  at  der  cat!  Come  quick,  quick, 
quick!  What  a  cat!  You  never  see 
sich  a  cat!" 

Jim  dashed  forward.  "Well,  I 
should  say  cat!"  he  remarked,  as  he 
took  in  the  situation.  On  a  ledge  about 
fifty  feet  above  the  road  crouched  a 
full-grown  mountain  lion,  ears  back, 
eyes  furtively  glimpsing  every  avenue 
of  escape,  yaggering  at  the  intruders 
savagely. 

66 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

The  small  boy  in  Jim  Felton  rose  on 
the  instant.  "Pelt  him,  Ches!  Pelt 
him  I"  he  cried,  and  let  fly  the  rock  in 
his  hand  by  way  of  illustration.  A  wild 
animal  seems  to  have  little  idea  of  a 
missile. 

The  lion  held  his  ground  and  let 
the  stone  strike  him  in  the  side. 
Then,  with  a  screech  like  the  vital 
principle  of  forty  thousand  tom-cat 
fights — a  screech  that  left  a  sediment  in 
the  ear-drums  of  the  listeners  for  the 
balance  of  the  morning — he  fairly  flew 
up  the  straight  side  of  the  cliff,  fol- 
lowed by  a  rain  of  projectiles. 

"Ches,  we  oughtn't  to  have  done 
that,"  said  Jim  soberly.  "If  that  fellow 
67 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

had  been  of  another  mind,  he'd  have 
made  this  the  warmest  day  of  our 
lives." 

"W'y!  Will  dey  fight?"  asked  Ches, 
his  eyes  wide  open. 

"They  will  that,  son,  sometimes,"  re- 
plied Jim.  Then  he  launched  into  the 
tales  of  wild  beast  hunts,  drifted  from 
that  to  the  romance  of  the  gold  field, 
the  riches  coming  in  a  day — the  whole 
glamour  of  it. 

Never  did  narrator  have  more  at- 
tentive listener.  There  was  a  sort  of 
white  joy  in  the  boy's  face. 

"Oh,  ain't  I  glad  to  git  in  dis!"  he 
cried.  "Here's  just  wot  I  been  lookin' 
fur."  Suddenly  he  struck  Jim  on  the 
68 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

shoulder  with  a  tightly  clenched  fist. 
"I  made  fur  youse  der  first  t'ing — 
didn't  yer  see  me?  I  know  me  man  all 
right.  Der  secont  I  put  me  peeps  on 
yer  I  ses  ter  meself,  *Dat  feller  won't 
t'row  yer  down,  Chimmy' — ain't  I 
right,  hey?  Ain't  I  right,  Mister?'7 

Jim  patted  him  on  the  back.  "I 
think  you're  right,  old  man,"  he  said. 
"I'll  do  anything  I  can  for  you." 

"Yer  don't  hafter  tell  me  dat— I 
know  it,"  replied  the  boy.  A  sudden 
sob  gathered  in  his  throat  and  choked 
him.  "Yer  don't  know  wot  I  been 
t'rough,  Mister — it  'ud  laid  out  many 
er  big  stiff  ten  times  me  size.  I'd — don't 
youse  laugh  at  me  now,  becus  I'm  only 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

a  kid — I'd  give  me  heart's  blood  fur 
youse,  s'  help  me,  I  would,  now!" 

"Shake  hands,  pardner,"  said  Jim, 
his  own  voice  a  trifle  hoarse.  "We'll 
do  fine  together — I  know  we  will." 


70 


Ill 

THEY  crested  the  last  sharp  rise, 
and  looked  down  upon  the  little 
cabin    huddling    in    the    spruces — an 
island  of  humanity  in  the  beautiful  sea 
of  the  wilderness. 

It  seemed  to  Jim  as  if  the  small  house 
brightened  in  appearance  at  the  return 
of  its  soul ;  his  heart  in  turn  rose  with 
a  home  feeling;  his  belief  in  the  treas- 
ure which  lay  where  the  new  channel 
cut  across  the  old  wash — that  treasure 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

which  would  make  the  world  so  differ- 
ent— came  back  to  him  like  a  renewed 
love.  His  hands  ached  for  a  grip  on 
pick  and  shovel.  His  strong  muscles 
twitched  with  eagerness  to  be  at  work 
again. 

Suddenly  a  ponderous  and  gross 
sound,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  size 
of  its  source,  smashed  the  mountain 
silence  into  slivers.  It  was  the  burro's 
greeting  to  his  companions,  and  the 
echoes  fluttered  it  from  cliff  to  cliff 
until  it  faded  into  the  merest  tint. 

"Kerissmus!    How  many  of  dem  is 
dere?"  asked  Ches,  astonished  at  the 
demonstration.  At  that  instant  the  herd 
welcomed  the  returned  one. 
72 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

The  canon  was  full  of  brays ;  collid- 
ing, rising,  falling  and  swelling  in  a 
tumult  of  noise  against  which  the 
dreadful  shouting  of  the  gods  at  the 
fall  of  Troy  would  have  seemed  as  the 
wail  of  a  kitten. 

"Say,  I  don't  like  dat!"  said  Ches. 
"What's  loose?" 

Jim  had  watched  the  growing  aston- 
ishment of  the  boy's  face  with  sup- 
pressed emotion,  but  now  he  hugged 
himself  and  uproariously  laughed  his 
laugh  out. 

"That,  Ches,"  he  replied,  "is  a  mat- 
ter of  fifteen  or  twenty  donkeys  and  an 
echo — did  you  think  it  was  the  end  of 
the  world?" 

73 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

"I  t'ought  it  was  gittin'  on  well  past 
der  middle,  all  right,"  retorted  Ches. 
"What  'ud  yer  expeck  of  a  man  dat 
never  heerd  der  like  before?" 

"I  knew  what  to  expect.  I  never 
heard  them  either  till  I  came  out  here. 
I  was  digging  a  hole  up  the  side  of  that 
hill  yonder,  and  had  begun  to  feel  that 
there  was  something  behind  me,  and 
that  it  was  almost  time  to  go  home, 
when  old  Jack,  who  has  the  voice  of  his 
family,  poured  out  his  soul  about 
twenty  rods  away.  I  was  half  way 
home,  Ches,  before  I  got  sand  enough 
to  go  back  and  investigate.  But  now 
listen,  and  you'll  hear  something  pret- 
tier than  that" 

74 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

He  put  his  fingers  to  his  lips  and 
whistled  a  bugle  call. 

"I  can't  get  'em  up, 
I  can't  get  'em  up, 
I  can't  get  'em  up  in  the  morning," 

sounded  Jim.  And  back  came  the 
pretty  reveille  in  a  fabric  of  music,  in- 
describably interwoven;  sharp  and 
staccato  from  the  neighboring  walls; 
the  lightest  of  whispers  from  the  dis- 
tance, turning  and  twisting  upon  itself 
and  starting  afresh  when  all  seemed 
still. 

"Say,  dat  is  prutty!"  said  Ches  en- 
thusiastically.   "Hit  her  again!" 

75 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

"Young  man,  you  can  come  up  here 
whenever  you  feel  like  it  in  the  future, 
but  as  for  now,  I'm  for  home  and 
grub." 

"Dat  ain't  so  bad,  neither.  Der  ani- 
mile's  jumped  me  up  an'  down  till  I 
cud  hold  more'n  a  man.  Dis  spook's 
hang-out  business  won't  quit,  will  it?" 

"No,  sir;  that's  a  fixture.  Hang  on 
tight  now,  and  I'll  race  you  to  the  cabin 
— one,  two,  three!"  and  away  sprinted 
Jim  down  the  hill  trail,  the  burro  lum- 
bering after. 

"No  fair!  No  fair!"  yelled  Ches. 
"Yer've  got  me  skate  doped!  T'row 
us  a  tow!" 

Jim  wheeled  at  the   doorway  and 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

took  in  the  excited,  happy  little  figure 
bumping  on  the  burro's  back.  For  once 
in  his  life  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  an 
indisputable  proof  that  he  had  done 
well.  With  a  sudden  access  of  affec- 
tion he  caught  the  boy  in  his  arms  and 
stood  him  on  the  ground.  "Well,  here's 
our  home,  Ches,"  he  said. 

Home!  The  street  Arab  filled  his 
puny  chest,  took  a  long,  devouring  look 
about  him,  and  sought  a  definition  of 
the  word  to  make  sound  the  lift  of 
pride  and  hope  that  rose  within  him. 

"Yer  mean  nobuddy  kin  chase  us 
out  of  dis?" 

"Nobody." 

"It's  our'n!"  the  boy  went  on  with 
77 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

curious  vehemence.  "Like  dis  here," 
snatching  an  old  knife  from  his  pocket 
and  shaking  it  in  his  tight  fist,  "ter 
t'row  away,  ter  sell,  er  ter  keep,  and  no- 
buddy  got  nuttin'  ter  say  about  it?" 

"Just  that,  laddybuck.  That  and 
nothing  else." 

"No  more  slinkin'  an'  snoopin' 
aroun'  dodgin'  der  coppers;  no  more 
stallin'  fer  der  push;  no  more  dirt  of  no 
kind — say,  I  can't  git  dat  jus'  in  a  min- 
ute." 

He  stood  grappling  with  the  new 
idea.  In  the  search  an  old  one  came  to 
the  top.  His  face  changed  rapidly. 
The  furtive,  hunted  look  returned.  In 
a  tone,  the  odd  quiet  of  which  contrast- 

78 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

ed  with  the  former  heat,  he  spoke 
again.  "Yer  for  me,  now,  ain't  yer, 
Jim?  If — if  der  Gun  should  happen 
ter  come  here,  yer  wouldn't  t'row  me 
rdown  at  dis  stage  of  der  game?" 

The  big  man  answered  him  with  an 
equal  soberness.  He  thrust  a  hand  be- 
fore the  boy's  eyes — a  splendid  hand, 
massive  and  corded  at  the  base,  running 
out  to  long,  shapely,  intelligent  fingers, 
and  every  line  in  it  spoke  of  power. 

"Do  you  see  that  hand,  Ches?" 

"Yessir." 

"If  the  'Gun*  shows  his  face  where 

that  hand  can  get  a  grip  on  him,  it  will 

do  the  business  for  him  in  one  squeeze, 

and  if  the  hand  can't  reach,  there's  a 

79 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

rifle  inside  that  can.  Now  get  that  out 
of  your  mind  once  for  all." 

"Well— "  said  the  boy,  "well— aw,, 
I'll  be  damned,  dat's  all  I  kin  say,  Jim," 
and  rushed  into  the  house. 

The  miner  leaned  back  and  laughed, 
and  blew  his  nose;  and  laughed  again 
and  blew  his  nose  again ;  then  he  wiped 
the  dust  out  of  his  eyes,  swore  a  few 
words  himself,  and  followed  the  boy 
within. 

The  next  day  Jim  started  on  his  work 
in  earnest.  Before,  he  had  sunk  a  hole 
here  or  there  in  the  broad  smooth  sur- 
face of  the  bar  of  gravel  that  he  felt 
certain  hid  his  bonanza. 

Now,  he  determined  to  begin  at 
80 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

the  creek  bank  and  drift  straight  across 
the  bar.  That  meant  six  hundred  feet 
of  tunnel  at  the  best,  unless  fortune  was 
much  kinder  than  she  had  hinted  at  be- 
fore— quite  an  undertaking  for  one 
man,  considering  the  timbering  and  all. 
It  must  have  been  a  miner  who 
wrote,  that  hope  springs  eternal  in  the 
human  breast.  Surely  in  no  place  other 
than  the  mines  is  the  fact  so  manifest. 
There  was  once  a  man  seventy-three 
years  old  who  was  sinking  through  a 
cap  of  cement  two  hundred  feet  thick. 
The  stuff  was  just  this  side  of  powder- 
work,  barely  to  be  loosened  with  a 
pick.  The  old  man  had  to  climb  down 
sixty  feet  of  ladder,  fill  his  bucket, 
81 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

climb  up  again  and  dump  it,  and  so 
on  and  so  on  and  so  on.  Besides,  he  had 
to  walk  thirty  miles  and  back  again 
with  his  load,  whenever  he  ran  out  of 
provisions.  It  had  taken  him  a  year  to 
put  his  shaft  down  the  sixty  feet.  There 
was  one  hundred  and  forty  more  to 
go,  each  foot  getting  harder,  the 
Lord  only  knew  what  would  be  at 
the  bottom  when  he  got  there;  yet  to 
sit  in  that  old  man's  cabin  for  an  hour 
was  to  obtain  a  complete  exposition  of 
the  theory  and  practice  of  optimism. 
It  is  an  unbelievable  story  and  would 
be  senseless,  were  it  not  entirely  true. 
Beside  that  effort,  Jim's  task  took  on 
the  tint  of  an  avocation,  but  the  man 
82 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

who  runs  six  hundred  feet  of  tunnel 
single-handed  earns  whatever  may  be 
at  the  end  of  it. 

The  tunnel  was  the  one  thing  that 
Ches  abhorred  in  his  new  surroundings. 
Whether  it  was  that  it  reminded  him  of 
the  dingy  holes  of  his  city  life,  or 
whether  it  was  a  natural  antipathy, 
Ches  was  one  of  those  who  can  never 
enter  a  confined  space  without  the  sen- 
sation of  smothering — at  any  rate, 
neither  argument  nor  coaxing  could 
get  him  to  put  a  foot  within  its  dark 
mouth. 

An  old  miner  would  have  sharecf 
his  feelings  in  this  instance,  for  Jim,  so 
thorough  in  some  things,  was  a  careless 

83 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

workman.  Your  old  miner  would  have 
shaken  his  head  at  the  weak  caps  and 
recklessly  driven  lagging;  frames  out 
of  plumb  and  made  of  any  stick  that 
came  to  hand — more  especially  as  they 
were  to  support  loose  dirt  of  the  most 
treacherous  sort. 

Ches  worked  outside,  dumping  the 
car  that  Jim  had  made  of  four  tree  sec- 
tions for  wheels,  and  sluice-box  boards 
for  sides.  Jim,  the  ingenious,  had 
rigged  up  a  pulley  system,  whereby 
Ches  could  run  the  car  out  and  in  with- 
out interrupting  the  work  on  the  face. 

It  was  hard  labor  for  Ches  at  first, 
but  he  gritted  his  teeth  and  stuck  it  out 
manfully. 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"Bime-by,"  he  would  say  to  himself, 
"I'll  have  er  muscle  on  me  like  Jim, 
an'  den  I'll  yank  dis  cussed  ol'  car 
right  out  in  der  middle  of  der  crik," 
and  he  examined  the  small  bunch  on 
his  arm  critically  a  dozen  times  every 
day. 

Meanwhile,  his  hero  and  idol  was 
outdoing  the  human  in  his  exertions. 
The  effort  he  put  forth  would  have 
killed  an  ordinary  man.  He  fought  the 
stubborn  earth  as  though  it  were  an  en- 
emy. Stripped  to  the  waist,  bent  over  in 
the  low  tunnel,  hour  after  hour  Jim 
plied  the  pick  and  shovel  with  the  reg- 
ularity and  power  of  a  machine.  There 
was  at  once  something  fascinating  and 

85 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

heroic  in  the  rippling  glide  of  the  mus- 
cles over  his  broad  back,  and  in  the 
supple  swing  that  sent  the  pick  to  join 
the  packed  dirt. 

It  all  looked  so  easy.  It  was  as  if 
the  dirt  were  very  soft,  and  not  the 
striker  very  strong.  Nevertheless,  four- 
teen hours  a  day  of  this,  varied  occa- 
sionally by  cutting  timbers  and  carrying 
them  by  hand  to  the  tunnel — some 
of  them  a  weight  enough  for  a  horse, 
others  not  adequate,  "just  as  they  came" 
being  careless  Jim's  motto — told  even 
on  his  engines. 

They  had  a  certain  mark  on  the 
sanon  side — a  wild-cat's  hole  it  was — 
and  when  the  sun  threw  the  shadow  of 
86 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

the  western  wall  upon  the  mark,  the 
day's  work  was  finished. 

Ches  used  to  watch  this  with  atten- 
tion. "Yer  move  along  all  right  till 
yer  gits  half  way  up,  den  yer  jus' 
crawls,  yer  ol'  beggar!"  was  his  stand- 
ing remark  on  the  progress  of  the  shad- 
ow. Still,  he  always  gave  good  meas- 
urement. 

Toward  the  last  of  the  month  Jim 
grew  an  interest  in  their  clock. 

"Where's  the  blame  thing  now, 
Ches?"  would  come  hollowly  out  of  the 
tunnel. 

"Three  more  cars  away,  Jim, — jus' 
tippin'  the  white  rock." 

Then  the  cheery  shout  of  "All  over!" 

87 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

and  the  worker  stepping  out  into  the 
fresh  air,  soft  and  cool  in  the  twilight, 
hooking  the  sweat  from  his  forehead, 
and  wishing  that  supper  would  cook  it- 
self. Sometimes  the  wild-cat  looked 
down  upon  them  from  his  eyrie. 

"Ches,"  said  weary  Jim,  "if  that  lad 
thinks  at  all,  he  must  think  we're  awful 
fools." 

"He  wouldn't  be  so  tur'ble  off  his 
guess,  neider,"  replied  the  equally 
weary  Ches. 

After  supper,  however,  the  world 
seemed  different.  There  was  Jones's 
Hill — (a  man  of  large  ideas,  was  Jones, 
to  call  that  mass  of  rock  a  hill) — shin- 
ing red-hot  in  the  last  light  against  a 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

topaz  or  turquoise  sky,  and  the  gulch 
that  ran  up  to  it  in  a  mystery  of  dark 
green  gloom  offering  up  an  evening 
prayer  of  indescribable  odors — those 
appeals  to  a  life  in  former  spheres 
which  no  other  sense  remembers;  the 
ceaseless  roar  of  the  wind  in  the  pines, 
so  steady  that  it  formed  a  background 
for  other  sounds  almost  as  good  as  si- 
lence itself;  the  evening  pipe,  and  the 
talk  of  what  had  been  done  and  what 
was  to  be  done — all  these  made  amends. 
And  then  the  sleeping — such  sleep- 
ing! And  waking  up  in  the  morning  in 
the  exact  attitude  one  went  to  sleep  the 
night  before !  Sleep  that  washed  out  all 
the  former  day's  fatigue,  and  started 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

them  as  eager  as  hounds  for  that  of  the 
new  day.  That  is,  within  limits,  for, 
when  a  man  overworks  as  continually 
as  Jim  had  done,  no  paradise  sleep  nor 
balsam  air  can  turn  him  right  perpetu- 
ally. 

And  for  that  reason  the  claim  de- 
clared a  holiday,  consisting  of  a  hunt- 
ing trip.  It  was  a  curious  hunting  trip. 
Not  one  "bang!"  went  the  clean  and 
polished  rifle.  They  stalked  four  deer, 
crawling  on  their  bellies,  quivering 
with  the  chase,  rounding  behind  rocks. 
Then  when  the  game  was  within  range, 
up  went  the  rifle,  Jim  squinted  along 
the  sights — then  dropped  it. 

"What's  der  matter?"  whispered 
90 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Ches.  He  had  been  waiting  for  a  long 
time  to  hear  the  gun  go  off. 

"They  seem  to  be  having  a  pretty 
good  time  by  themselves  there,  Ches." 

"Yes — dat's  so — but  I've  heard  deer- 
meat  was  good."  Ches  was  disap- 
pointed at  this  manner  of  hunting. 

"So  it  is,"  replied  Jim,  "probably 
nobody  has  that  notion  stronger  than 
the  deer."  He  followed  the  four  pretty 
animals  below  them  with  tense  eyes. 
He  loved  to  hunt  but  he  hated  to  kill. 

"See  here,  boy,"  he  said,  sitting  down 
and  pulling  off  his  boots,  "I  think  I  can 
show  you  some  fun — do  you  notice 
they're  feeding  up  to  that  nose  of  rock? 
Well  I  used  to  be  rather  quick  on  my 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

feet  once,  and  I  think  if  I  can  slip  down 
behind  there  without  their  winding  me, 
if  one  gets  close  enough  I  can  catch  him 
with  my  hands — which  is  a  trick  I'd 
like  muchly  to  accomplish.  Now  you 
sit  here  and  watch,  and  for  your  life, 
don't  make  a  move  or  sound!  By 
Jiminy !  if  I  could  do  that!"  He  trotted 
light-footed  down  the  slope  out  of 
sight. 

The  boy  soon  saw  him  reappear  be- 
hind the  sharp  rock-wall  that  jutted 
out  into  the  valley,  rubbing  crushed 
pine-needles  upon  himself  with  the 
idea  of  overpowering  the  human  odor, 
although,  whether  effective  in  its  pur- 
pose or  not,  it  was  not  necessary — a 
92 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

strong  up-wind  from  deer  to  man  mak- 
ing it  impossible  that  they  could  scent 
him. 

They  waited  and  they  waited,  a  big 
man  crouched  like  a  tiger  below,  and  a 
highly  excited  small  boy  above,  while 
the  deer  did  every  exasperating  thing 
that  animals  could  do. 

They  started  straight  for  the  rock, 
grazing  along,  and  then  for  no  reason 
in  the  world  beat  back  on  their  tracks, 
or  turned  to  right  or  left.  They  even 
went  so  far  as  to  lie  down,  chewing 
most  contentedly. 

One  hour  went  by — two — when  sud- 
denly the  buck  rose  and  walked  straight 
up  the  canon  in  a  course  that  would 

93 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

take  him  within  twenty  feet  of  the  rock. 
Jim  heard  him  snort  and  prepared  for 
action,  laying  hold  of  a  corner  of  stone 
to  get  a  spring  from  all-fours. 

The  deer's  shadow  floated  black  on 
the  grass  before  him,  and  Jim  leaped — 
to  the  biggest  surprise  of  his  life,  for 
instead  of  making  the  least  effort  to  es- 
cape, the  buck  charged,  and  that  with 
such  sudden  fury  it  was  all  the  man 
could  do  to  lay  hold  of  him  anywhere 
as  they  came  to  dirt  together. 

The  next  ten  seconds  was  delirium, 
each  combatant  doing  something  as 
quick  as  he  could  without  any  definite 
aim.  Jim  received  a  painful  rake 
across  the  chest  from  the  antlers,  and 
94 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

a  jab  in  the  leg  from  the  sharp  hoofs, 
while  the  deer  was  the  worse  for  sev- 
eral bangs  over  the  head  and  an  ear 
nearly  pulled  off,  as  they  rolled  over 
together. 

It  came  over  Jim  with  the  force  of 
a  revelation  that  he  had  got  into  a  very 
different  business  from  that  which  he 
had  intended.  Instead  of  the  "timid 
deer"  whose  capture  was  the  difficulty, 
he  found  himself  engaged  with  a 
horned  and  hoofed  demon,  and  the 
problem  was  how  to  get  away. 

Meanwhile,  Ches  had  legged  it  down 
the  hillside  at  his  best  speed,  enthusi- 
astically cheering  what  he  supposed 
was  a  prearranged  performance.  Jim 

95 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

had  promised  him  fun,  and  that  whirl- 
ing heap  below  supplied  plenty  of  it. 

"Hooray!"  yelled  Ches.  "Hooray! 
Hold  him  dere,  Jim,  till  I  get  down!" 

Jim  heard  the  shrill  voice,  as  he  suc- 
ceeded, after  a  desperate  effort,  in  get- 
ting an  arm  around  the  deer's  neck,  so 
that  he  could  do  something  in  the  chok- 
ing line,  and  he  smiled  grimly  in  the 
heat  of  battle.  "All  right,  Ches!"  he 
gasped.  "Don't — hurry!" 

"Keep  out  of  this!"  he  yelled  a  mo- 
ment later  as  Ches  burst  out  from  the 
bushes.  "You'll  get  killed!" 

But  Ches  was  not  to  be  denied.  He 
danced  around  the  pushing,  tugging, 
straining  storm-center,  and  the  moment 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

opportunity  offered,  slipped  in  and 
seized  the  buck  by  a  hind  leg. 

If  he  had  touched  an  electric  battery, 
the  effect  could  not  have  been  more  in- 
stant. The  deer  fanned  that  muscular 
hind  leg,  with  its  boy  attachment,  at  the 
rate  of  seven  hundred  strokes  to  the 
minute.  Poor  Ches'  head  was  nearly 
snapped  off  his  shoulders,  and  the 
breath  was  literally  jerked  out  of  his 
body,  but  he  hung  on,  with  all  the 
strength  that  pulling  the  car  had  given 
him. 

It  was  not  much  help,  but  it  was  a 
'diversion.  Jim  gulped  a  lungful  of 
air,  gathered  his  powers  and  came 
down  with  all  his  might.  Slowly  the 

97 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

stubborn  neck,  bent — so  slowly  that  Jim 
feared  he  would  give  out  before  gain- 
ing the  mastery.  As  it  yielded,  his  lev- 
erage increased,  and  at  last,  exerting 
every  ounce  of  strength  that  was  in 
him,  he  downed  the  foe  and  held  him 
there,  his  leg  over  the  front  legs  whose 
armament  he  had  felt  before,  and  was 
not  desirous  of  feeling  again. 

But  the  deer  gave  up  the  struggle, 
and  lay  quiet,  looking  up  with  great 
pleading  eyes. 

"Yes,  you  devil!"  cried  Jim,  "you 
look  meek  enough  now,  but  if  you 
weren't  a  handful  of  hard  luck  ten  sec- 
onds ago  I  never  ran  across  one.  You 
hurt,  Ches?" 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"I  got  a  lovely  t'ump  on  me  smeller, 
but  I'm  in  it  yet — do  I  let  go  or  don't 
I?" 

"Not  on  your  life — wait  a  moment  1" 
He  worked  his  weight  over  on  the 
'deer's  body.  "Now!"  he  said.  "Quick! 
Jump  loose!"  Again  the  deer  glanced 
up  reproachfully,  as  though  to  say, 
"How  suspicious  you  are!" 

The  instant  Ches  jumped  clear,  so 
did  Jim.  They  watched  their  late  an- 
tagonist, who  sprang  to  his  feet  and 
went  off  with  frisky  leaps,  apparently 
as  fresh  as  ever. 

Then  they  looked  at  each  other.  Ches 
was  rubbing  his  stomach  with  his  left 
hand,  while  he  wiped  the  blood  from 
99 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

his  nose  with  the  right.  Jim's  coat  and 
trousers  were  torn;  he  had  a  deep 
scratch  across  his  chest,  a  gouge  in  his 
leg,  and  he  trembled  from  the  exertion. 

"Well— Ches!"  he  panted,  "we've— 
had — a — nice — rest — haven't  we?" 

"Wouldn't  it  'a'  been  tur'ble  if  yer 
hadn't  caught  him?"  replied  Ches. 
And  then  they  simply  whooped. 

'A  good  incident  is  an  opal  among 
gems  in  a  lonely  life.  You  can  turn  it 
over  and  over  and  always  get  new  col- 
ors. 

On  the  home  trip,  as  Nimrod  Jim 

stalked  along  with  his  follower  trotting 

beside,    they    rehearsed    every    detail 

of    the    unexpected    encounter.      Jim 

TOO 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

crouched  and  leaped  again,  giving  his 
sensations  when  the  buck  did  likewise. 
Then  he  waited  while  Ches  ran  down 
a  side  hill  and  threw  himself  upon  a 
sapling,  which  for  the  time  was  a  deer's 
hind  leg. 

They  were  just  of  an  age — any  one 
would  have  said  so,  on  seeing  them  ap- 
proach the  cabin,  arms  flying,  tongues 
wagging,  bruised,  tired  and  happy. 

"Jim,"  said  a  very  sleepy  little  boy 
after  supper,  gorged  like  an  anaconda, 
"yer  don't  see  t'ings  like  dat  in  N'york 
— not  much  yer  don't.  If  dat  racket 
had  come  off  in  der  Bowery,  dere'd  be 
head-lines — 'dlines — on  der  extries — - 
more'n  a  mile — " 

101 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

Jim  picked  him  up  and  tucked  him 
Into  his  bunk.  "More'n  a  mile  long — g' 
nigh',"  sighed  Ches. 

Jim  lit  his  pipe  and  went  out  for  an 
evening  smoke.  It  was  some  little  time 
the  next  morning  before  he  could  real- 
ize what  he  was  doing  out  there  under 
the  tree. 

He  had  been  in  some  wrays  a  graver 
man  of  late.  What  he  had  undertaken 
as  an  experiment,  a  generous  impulse, 
had  been  turned  into  a  lasting  responsi- 
bility. 


102 


IV 

ON  the  second  day  after  Ches'  ar- 
rival,  Bud  had  come  through 
with  the  mail,  and  before  leaving,  drew 
Jim  aside,  out  of  the  boy's  hearing. 

"The   little   feller's  yours   agin   all 
comers  now,  Jim,"  he  said. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Jim,  surprised 
by  the  meaning  in  the  tone. 

"He's  yours,"  repeated  Bud.    "That 
sweet-scented  blossom  that  called  him- 
self the  boy's  dad,  filled  his  skin  with 
103 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

red-eye  farther  up  the  line  and  settled 
the  fuss  he  had  with  his  dame." 

"Hurt  her?" 

"Man!"  said  Bud  slowly,  "he  used 
a  knife  a  foot  long — gave  it  to  her  a 
dozen  times  as  hard  as  he  could  drive — 
what's  your  opinion?" 

"Lord  Almighty!  Did  he  get  away? 
But  no,  of  course  he  couldn't,  being  on 
the  train — " 

"He  didn't  get  away.  The  Con. 
wired  the  news  to  Kimballs.  What  was 
he  to  do  when  a  small  army  of  punchers 
boarded  the  train  and  took  the  pris- 
oner? He  couldn't  do  nothing,  and  he 
never  loved  that  black-muzzled  whelp 
from  the  time  he  sassed  him  in  the 
104 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

depot.  The  punchers  took  our  friend 
out  and  tried  him." 

"Tried  him?" 

"With  a  rope.  In  three  minutes  by 
the  watch  he  was  found  wanting — your 
boy  now,  Jim,  as  I  was  telling  you. 
Going  to  say  anything  to  him  about  it?" 

"Why,"  said  Jim,  bewildered,  "why, 
I  don't  know,  Bud — guess  not,  just  yet, 
on  general  principles.  What  do  you 
think?" 

"Think  you're  right,"  said  Bud. 
"The  poor  little  rooster  couldn't  help 
but  feel  glad  to  hear  the  news,  but  it 
would  sound  kind  of  awful  to  hear  a 
kid  like  that  say  he  was  glad  two 
people  were  killed.  Better  wait  till  he's 
105 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

been  with  you  a  while,  Jim,  and  learned 
something  different." 

Jim  flushed  at  the  implied  compli- 
ment. "You're  right,  Bud,  I  will." 

"Great  little  papoose,  ain't  he?" 
said  Bud,  turning  in  his  saddle  before 
his  starting  rush.  "Makings  of  a  man 
there,  all  right.  The  boys  in  town  are 
'dead  stuck  on  him.  I'll  have  to  give  a 
complete  history  when  I  get  back.  I 
must  get  a  gait  on,  or  I'll  have  Uncle 
Sammy  on  my  neck  again — inspector 
started  out  with  me  this  morning." 

"The  devil  he  did!"  cried  Jim  indig- 
nantly, well  knowing  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  the  big  rider's  route. 

"Oh,  it's  all  right!"  replied  Bud  with 
106 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

a  wave  of  his  hand.  "Come  out  fine. 
When  the  lad  first  told  me  he'd  been 
sent  out  to  see  why  the  mails  was  so  late 
on  this  line,  I  told  him  I'd  show  him 
right  on  the  spot,  but  he  said  there  was 
no  use  getting  hot  about  it,  as  he  was 
only  doing  his  duty,  so  I  quieted  down. 

"He  was  a  decent  sort  of  feller.  I 
thought  to  myself  before  we  got  under 
way,  'Now,  there  won't  nothing  hap- 
pen this  day — everything'll  go  as 
smooth  and  slick  as  grease,  and  this 
feller  will  report  that  I'm  sojering,' 
that's  the  way  it  usually  works,  you 
know.  But  this  time  I  played  in  luck. 

"Two  miles  out  of  town  we  ran  into 
a  wild-eyed  gang  from  somewhere, 
107 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

who  was  going  to  make  us  dance.  We 
didn't  dance,  and  I'll  say  for  that  in- 
spector that  he  stood  by  me  like  a  man, 
but  he  was  awful  sick  at  his  stomach 
later  on  from  the  excitement. 

"Next  thing,  the  bridge  was  down  'at 
Squaw  Creek,  and  we  swum  her.  He'd 
have  gone  down  the  flume,  if  I  hadn't 
got  hold  of  his  bridle.  'Nice  mail  route, 
this,'  says  he,  as  he  got  ashore.  'Oh, 
you'd  like  it,'  says  I,  'if  you  got  used  to 
it.'  I'd  begun  to  wonder  what  was  next 
myself.  Ain't  many  people  swimming 
Squaw  Creek,  as  you  perhaps  know. 

"Well,  next  was  about  ten  mile  along, 
just  before  you  come  to  the  old  Tin-cup 
Camp.  We  was  passing  the  bluff  there, 
108 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

and  all  of  a  sudden,  rip,  thump,  biff! 
Down  comes  what  looked  like  the 
whole  side  a-top  of  us.  It  weren't 
though.  It  was  only  a  cinnamon  had 
lost  his  balance,  leaning  over  too  far  to 
see  what  we  was.  That  bear  landed 
right  agin  brother  inspector's  horse, 
and  brother  inspector's  horse  tried  to 
climb  a  tree.  Inspector  himself  fell 
a-top  of  the  bear.  I  dassent  shoot,  for 
the  devil  himself  couldn't  have  told 
which  was  inspector  and  which  bear. 
Finally  bear  shakes  himself  loose  and 
telescopes  himself  up  the  canon,  the 
worst  scared  animile  in  the  country. 
'If  you'll  ketch  my  horse,  I'll  amble 
back  again,'  says  the  inspector.  Tve  in- 
109 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

vestigated  this  route  pretty  thorough, 
and  find  it's  just  as  you  say.  Lamp- 
posts'll  do  me  all  right  for  a  while.' 
Come  out  fine,  didn't  it? 

"Whish  there!  Untie  yourself,  you 
yaller  bone-heap!"  And  the  mail  was 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  up  the  trail. 

Jim  pondered  the  information  con- 
cerning Ches  carefully,  only  to  adhere 
to  his  original  determination.  He 
could  not  see  any  way  in  which  the  boy 
would  be  benefited  by  hearing  the  news. 
Still,  the  miner  hated  anything  that 
savored  of  concealment  or  deception. 

"I  wish  Anne  was  here  to  help  me," 
he  thought;  "she'd  know  what  to  do." 

'He  sat  long,  looking  down,  his  hands 
no 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

clasped  about  his  knees,  drinking  with 
old  Tantalus.  But  the  reverie  ended 
as  it  always  did — in  action.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  the  claim.  Success 
there  meant  success  everywhere. 

It  was  the  knowledge  that  Anne,  the 
boy,  and  all  he  wished  to  do  for  both 
depended  on  the  pay-streak  which  had 
urged  him  to  such  a  fury  of  effort. 

His  carelessness  of  his  own  life,  that 
led  him  to  slap  his  timbering  up  any 
way,  was  born  of  that  same  fury.  And 
the  consequences  came  like  most  conse- 
quences, without  a  moment's  warning. 

It  was  a  still  and  beautiful  noon. 
Ches  had  pulled  out  the  last  car  before 
dinner,  and  started  for  the  cabin, 
in 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

fA  curious  groaning  and  snapping 
from  the  tunnel  halted  him.  It  was  the 
giving  of  the  tortured  timbers.  On  the 
heels  of  that  came  a  dull,  crushing  roar. 
A  blast  of  dust  shot  from  the  tunnel- 
mouth,  like  smoke  from  a  cannon,  pre- 
ceded by  a  shock  that  nearly  threw  the 
boy  off  his  feet 

Then  all  was  still  again.  The  sun 
shone  as  brilliantly  as  before,  blazing 
down  upon  the  ghastly  face  of  a  little 
boy,  who,  after  one  heart-broken  cry  of 
"Jim!  Oh,  Jim's  killed!"  sank  down 
upon  the  ground,  chewing  the  fingers 
thrust  in  his  mouth,  that  the  pain  might 
make  the  black  wave  keep  its  distance. 

For  Ches  knew  that  he  was  alone; 

112 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

that  there  was  no  human  being  within 
miles  to  help  the  man  caught  in  the 
hand  of  that  mischance  but  himself,  so 
frantically  willing,  but  so  impotent. 

"I  must  git  me  wits  tergedder — I 
must!"  and  down  came  the  teeth  with 
all  the  strength  of  the  boy's  jaw.  "Oh, 
what  will  I  do?  What  will  I  do?"  The 
little  head  waved  from  side  to  side  in 
its  agony,  and  a  sudden  sob  struck  him 
in  the  throat. 

After  that  one  small  weakness  rose 
Ches  Felton,  hero.  To  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  he  went.  Above  the  tumbled 
pile  of  dirt  and  timber  ran  a  sort  of 
passage,  between  it  and  the  roof. 

A  way  along  which  a  boy  might 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

crawl  and  find  out  if  all  the  frames 
were  down — to  which  the  silence  of  the 
tunnel  gave  a  bitter  assent — or  if 
by  some  most  lucky  chance  one  or 
two  had  held,  and  Jim  be  safe  within. 

Ches  climbed  to  the  top  and  thrust 
his  head  into  the  gloom.  "Jim!"  he 
called,  "Jim!"  No  answer. 

Before  him  lay  the  ruin  of  his  pard- 
ner's  work.  It  was  over  this  that  his 
path  lay,  as  deadly  dangerous  a  path  as 
could  be  found.  The  slightest  disturb- 
ing of  the  roof  above  might  bring  down 
a  thousand  tons  of  dirt  upon  the  one 
who  ventured,  slowly  and  hideously  to 
crush  his  life  out,  there  in  the  dark,  be- 
yond sight  and  sound  of  the  cheerful 
114 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

world  without.  With  this  knowledge 
before  him,  and  his  inborn  fear  of  the 
dark  hole,  as  daunting  as  the  hand  of 
death  itself,  he  took  his  soul  in  his 
gripe,  and  wormed  his  way  within. 

Sometimes  his  back  grazed  a  stone 
in  the  roof,  and  the  touch  of  white-hot 
iron  could  not  have  been  so  terrible; 
sometimes  a  falling  stone  near  him 
would  make  his  heart  leap  and  stop  as 
he  waited  for  the  hill  above  to  follow. 
Foot  by  foot  he  made  it,  twisting 
around  the  end  of  a  post,  scooping  out 
the  dirt  most  cautiously  where  the  hole 
was  too  small  for  even  his  slight  body. 

Once  the  sharp  end  of  a  broken  piece 
of  lagging  caught  in  his  clothes,  and  he 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

could  go  neither  forward  nor  back. 
There,  for  a  second,  he  broke  down. 
Bracing  up  again,  he  managed  some- 
how to  get  the  old  knife  out  of  his 
pocket  and  cut  himself  free. 

He  could  see  little. 

A  gray  spectral  light  filtered  in  here 
and  there  that  defined  nothing,  even 
when  his  eyes  grew  accustomed  to  the 
darkness. 

It  was  an  endless  journey.  In  places 
where  the  dirt  closed  in  he  would  be 
a  full  minute  progressing  a  foot,  and  a 
minute  of  such  mortal  terror  as  seldom 
falls  to  the  lot  of  man  of  peace  or  sol- 
dier. 

But  it  ended. 

116 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Suddenly  the  boy's  outstretched 
hand  encountered  only  emptiness  be- 
low. That  frame  had  held.  He  dove 
into  the  space  head  first,  and  landed  on 
something  soft  and  warm — the  body  of 
his  pardner. 

He  had  found  him.  In  a  paroxysm 
of  joy,  he  flung  himself  upon  the  mo- 
tionless figure  and  cried  his  heart  out. 
This,  too,  he  soon  conquered.  Jim  had 
just  so  much  show — any  delay  might 
wipe  it  out.  He  searched  the  man's 
pockets  until  he  found  a  match.  By  its 
light  he  saw  the  candle  stuck  into  the 
post,  and  lit  it.  Then  he  knelt  beside  his 
pardner  again. 

It  was  a  curious  picture  within  that 
117 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

gloomy  chamber  underground.  The 
miner  lying  stark,  stretched  to  his  full 
great  length,  appearing  enormous  in 
the  flickering  candle-light,  and  the 
child,  white-faced,  big-eyed,  but  steady 
as  a  veteran,  wiping  the  blood  from  the 
ragged  cut  in  the  man's  head. 

Ches  realized  what  had  happened 
the  instant  before  the  calamity.  Jim, 
startled  by  the  noise  of  the  yielding  tim- 
bers, had  made  a  rush,  only  to  be  struck 
down  by  the  rock,  that  now  lay  within 
an  inch  of  him;  yet  struck  into  safety 
for  all  that.  Had  he  gone  a  yard  far- 
ther, the  life  would  have  been  smashed 
out  of  him  instantly. 

But  now,  what?  The  flowing  blood 
118 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

sent  a  sickening  chill  through  the  boy. 
Had  he  done  this  much  only  to  be  able 
to  see  his  pardner  die?  He  drove  his 
teeth  into  his  hand  again  at  the  thought. 
What  was  that?  Was  it  a  trick  of  the 
tunnel,  his  heart  sounding  in  his  own 
ears,  or  a  rhythmic  beat  from  outside? 
Hollow  and  dull  fell  that  "clatter- 
clum-clatter-clum." 

"Bud!"  screamed  Ches,  "Tank  God, 
dat's  Bud!" 

After  half  a  dozen  efforts  he  climbed 
the  dirt  pile  and  went  back  through  the 
treacherous  holes.  The  rider  came  so 
fast!  "Oh!"  groaned  the  boy,  "I'll 
never  make  it!  Bud'll  t'ink  we're  off 
somewheres  an'  pull  on! — Bud!  BUD!" 
119 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

he  called  at  the  top  of  his  lungs; 
but  the  tunnel  swallowed  the  little 
voice. 

Desperation  made  him  entirely  reck- 
less. It  was  any  way  to  get  out  be- 
fore the  mail-man  was  beyond  call. 
Glairy  with  sweat,  he  pulled,  tugged, 
squirmed  and  wriggled  along,  until  a 
dirty,  small  bundle  rolled  down  almost 
under  the  mail-rider's  feet. 

"Whoa!"  shouted  Bud  with  an  as- 
tonished oath.  "What's  the — why  boy, 
what's  the  matter?  Damn  it!  how  you 
scart  me!" 

One  look  at  him  froze  the  man;  he 
said  no  more,  but  waited,  watching  the 
working  face  of  the  child,  who  was 
1 20 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

mastering  himself  once  more,  in  order 
to  tell  a  quick,  straight  story,  that  no 
time  might  be  lost. 

"Der  tunnel's  fell  in,  Bud;  Jim's  in 
Here  where  der  frame's  held.  He's  liv- 
in'  yet,  but  he's  got  a  tur'ble  cut  in  his 
head." 

The  mail-rider  'drew  out  paper  and 
tobacco,  and  rolled  a  cigarette.  It  was 
his  method  of  biting  his  hand.  He 
loved  the  man  inside  that  dark  blotch 
on  the  hill-side  with  an  affection  only 
known  where  men  are  few  and  strong. 
And  because  he  loved  him,  Bud  was 
going  to  keep  his  head  cool  and  clear, 
to  find  the  right  thing  to  do  and  do  it 
the  right  way. 

121 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

For  all  his  calm  outer  man  the 
mind  within  was  whirling.  He  turned 
to  the  tense  little  face  before  him  for 
help,  and  with  an  admiration  that 
knew  no  bounds. 

"How  far  back?"  he  asked. 

"T'ree  frames  was  held — dere  was 
seven,  ten  foot  apart — how  much  is 
flat?" 

"Forty  feet — ten  foot  apart!  No 
wonder!  Oh,  Jim!  How  could  you 
have  been  so  careless?" 

The  boy's  shoulders  shook  once.  "He 
worked  like  er  horse — now  it's  all  gone 
an'  he's  in  dere — "  The  face  was  con- 
torted out  of  all  humanity,  but  he  held 
the  tears  back. 

122 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Bud  leaped  from  his  horse.  "Never 
you  mind,  Chessy  lad!"  he  cried,  hug- 
ging up  the  little  figure,  "we'll  get  him 
out  of  that,  by  God! — Could  we  haul 
him  out  the  way  you  went?" 

"No,  dere  ain't  room — an'  if  you 
touch  dat  roof  hard — "  he  shuddered. 

Bud  sucked  in  his  breath.  "If  you 
weren't  the  sandy  little  man  to  try  it!" 
he  said.  He  stood  a  moment  in  silence 
going  over  it  all. 

"Ches,"  he  said,  "there  ain't  any 
time  to  lose.  If  Jim's  cut  like  that  he 
may  bleed  to  death  in  there  when  we 
could  save  him  all  right  if  we  had  him 
outside. 

"There's  a  party  of  miners  down  the 
123 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

road  eight  mile.  They  was  having  their 
grub  as  I  went  by.  Chances  are  they'll 
be  there  yet.  They've  got  four  men 
and  a  team.  I  could  ride  back,  but  I 
ought  to  be  here  working.  Do  you 
think  you  could  stick  on  old  Buck  and 
ride  there?" 

"I  kin." 

"By  God!  I  hate  to  do  it— but  there 
ain't  any  other  way!"  The  big  man 
ground  his  teeth  together.  "I  hate  to 
do  it— damned  if  I'll  do  it!" 

Ches  caught  his  hand.  "I  kin  make 
it,  Bud,"  he  pleaded;  ."I  cuddent  do 
nothin'  if  I  stayed  here,  an'  you  could 
do  a  heap.  Put  me  up  and  let  me  try." 

"All  right,"  said  Bud.  "The  good 
124 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Lord  kept  you  from  getting  hurt  in  the 
tunnel,  perhaps  He'll  see  you  through 
again.  Shut  your  eyes  and  hold  on  tight 
when  you  strike  the  high  places,  and 
don't  touch  a  rein — leave  it  all  to  old 
Buck." 

He  stepped  forward  and  caught  the 
horse  by  the  bit. 

"Buck!"  he  said,  as  though  talking 
to  a  human  being,  "you  and  me  have 
been  through  a  heap  together — don't 
fall  down  on  me,  now! — Take  the  kid 
safe,  old  boy!"  He  caught  Ches  up 
and  threw  him  across  the  saddle. 
"You'll  only  have  to  tell  'em  what's 
happened — the  Lord!  send  nothing 
happens  to  you!  Good-by,  you  brave 
125 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

little  devil — we'll  win  out  yet.  Go  it, 
Buck!" 

And  while  one  of  Jim's  friends  plied 
pick  and  shovel  like  a  mad  man,  the 
other  was  swaying  on  top  of  a  gallop- 
ing horse,  gripping  the  pommel  of  the 
saddle  with  all  the  strength  he  had,  and 
shutting  his  eyes  when  he  came  to  the 
high  places. 

Captain  Hanrahan's  party  were  min- 
ers of  substance.  They  were  working 
their  way  out  to  a  new  country  to  suit 
their  inclinations.  It  had  just  been 
suggested  that  it  was  perhaps  time  to 
hit  the  trail  again  when  the  captain  saw 
a  figure  on  a  horse  flying  athwart  the 
mountain  side — the  regular  road  was 
126 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

bad  enough,  but  Bud  had  short  cuts  of 
his  own,  and  Buck  followed  his  usual 
way. 

"Huh!"  said  the  captain,  "that  man's 
drunk  or  crazy?" 

"Holy  sufferin'!"  gasped  the  man 
next  him,  as  the  yellow  horse  slipped 
on  a  turn  and  sent  a  shower  of  gravel  a 
thousand  feet  below.  "That  was  a  near 
touch,"  as  the  horse  caught  himself  and 
swept  on. 

"Looks  to  me  like  a  case  of  trouble, 
Cap,"  said  a  third  speaker.  "That  ain't 
no  man,  anyhow — it's  only  a  boy." 

"Horse  running  away  with  him, 
probably — his  folks  ought  to  be 
clubbed  for  letting  him  out  on  such  an 
127 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

animal.    Well,  spread  out,  boys,  and 
we'll  catch  him." 

But  Buck  stopped  in  two  jumps,  at 
Ches'  command  of  "Whoa!" 

"Fren's!"  cried  the  boy,  "me  pard- 
ner's  caught  in  a  tunnel  dat  caved  in  on 
him.  Kin  yer  help  us  out?  Three  mile 
above  Jones's  Hill." 

He  had  not  finished  the  sentence  be- 
fore two  men  sprang  for  the  horses. 
The  rest  grabbed  picks  and  shovels  and 
hurled  them  into  the  wagon. 

"We'll  be  there,  hell-a-whooping," 
said  Captain  Hanrahan. 

"T'anks!"  replied  Ches  weakly,  and 
then  the  world  went  out.  The  captain 
caught  him  as  he  fell. 
128 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"Poor  little  cuss!  He  rid  hard  to 
help  his  pardner!"  said  the  captain. 
"Hump  yourselves,  boys — all  ready! 
Got  the  whisky,  Pete?  Picks  enough? 
Stick  the  axes  where  they  won't  jump 
loose  and  cut  a  leg  off  some  of  us.  Tie 
the  horse  behind — good  animal,  that. 
BUI  right,  let 'em  go!" 

They  went.  Over  stones  and  gulleys, 
the  tools  clanging  and  banging  fit  to 
leap  from  the  wagon,  the  men  clinging 
to  the  side-boards  for  dear  life. 

Down  hill-sides  like  the  slant  of  a 
roof,  the  horses  keeping  out  of  the  way 
of  the  wagon;  up  the  other  side  with 
the  reeking  animals  straining  every 
fiber;  over  bridges  that  bent  fearfully 
129 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

beneath  the  shock  of  their  onset;  sway- 
ing around  curves  with  the  wheels  slu- 
ing and  sparks  flying,  and  over  the 
level  as  though  the  devil  himself  were 
behind  them. 

It  was  the  record  trip  for  eight 
miles  in  a  wagon  in  that  country.  The 
driver  stood  up,  a  foot  braced  on  either 
side,  the  reins  thrown  loose,  the  whip 
plied  hard,  and  every  urging  that  voice 
could  give  shrieked  out  by  his  powerful 
lungs. 

It  was  like  the  rush  of  a  fire-engine, 
plus  twice  the  speed,  and  twenty  times 
the  danger.  Above  the  pounding  of 
hoofs,  the  din  of  rattling  metal,  the 
crash,  smash  and  roar  of  the  wheels 
130 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

and  the  yells  of  the  driver  could  be 
heard  the  man  Pete,  ex-cowpuncher,, 
cheerfully  singing, 

"Roll  your  tails,  and  roll  'em  high, 
We'll  all  be  angels  by-and-by." 

Braced  in  the  back  corner  sat  Cap- 
tain Hanrahan,  his  leg  keeping  some 
of  the  tools  from  going  overboard, 
holding  Ches  in  his  arms. 

"Curse  it  all,  Billy!"  he  screamed  ta 
the  driver,  "miss  some  of  them  bumps, 
will  you?  I've  got  on  a  new  pair  of 
pants." 

"I'll  take  'em  clean  off  you  the  next 
time,  Cap!"  retorted  the  driver. 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

They  joked,  which  may  seem  heart- 
less; but  they  risked  their  necks  a  hun- 
dred times,  and  that  isn't  very  heart- 
less. 

"That's  the  place,  I  reckon,  Cap!" 
said  the  driver,  pointing.  "Somebody 
working  there  now!" 

"Give  'em  a  hoot!"  replied  the  cap- 
tain. 

Bud  stepped  out  and  held  up  his 
hand  in  answer  to  the  yell.  The  wave 
of  thanksgiving  at  the  sight  of  this 
most  efficient  help  took  all  the  stiffness 
out  of  the  knees  of  the  mail-rider.  The 
tears  rolled  down  his  face  unnoticed. 

"You're  welcome,  boys,"  he  cried, 
as  the  'driver  sawed  the  frenzied  team 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

to  a  standstill  and  the  men  sprang  out. 

"Reckon  we  are,"  said  the  captain. 
"Now  what's  up?" 

"Is  the  boy  hurt?  Good  God!  He 
ain't  hurt  himself,  has  he?" 

"Naw;  pore  little  cuss  is  used  up, 
that's  all.  He'll  be  around  all  right  in 
a  minute.  Now  tell  me,  what's  loose." 

Bud  answered  briefly,  but  com- 
pletely. 

"Pete  and  Billy,  get  to  cutting  wood 
— the  rest  of  you  come  here,"  com- 
manded the  captain. 

"You  ain't  going  to  stop  to  timber, 
are  you?"  asked  Bud  in  an  agony  of 
haste. 

"I  sure  am,"  replied  the  captain. 
133 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

this  trouble's  come  of  carelessness. 
Now  you  just  keep  your  clothes  on,  and 
let  me  run  this  thing. 

"We'll  have  your  friend  out  in  no 
time,  and  there  won't  be  no  more  men 
stuck  in  there  with  a  hill  a-top  of  'em 
in  the  doing  of  it.  What  you've  done 
there  is  a  help  all  right,  but  it  might 
easy  have  meant  that  we'd  had  two  men 
instead  of  one  to  hunt  for." 

"You're  dead  right,"  said  Bud. 
"Tell  me  what  I'm  to  do." 

The  captain  took  hold  as  only  a  man 
can  who  has  the  genius  for  it.  He  knew 
by  long  practice  what  size  of  a  relief 
tunnel  meant  real  speed  of  progress — 
the  least  dirt  to  be  removed  to  make  it 
134 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

possible  that  men  could  work  to  ad- 
vantage. And  his  tunnel,  safely  rough- 
ceiled,  went  in  at  the  rate  of  a  foot  a 
minute. 

When  at  last  they  pulled  the  in- 
sensible man  out  into  the  light  of  day, 
and  found  that  while  his  wound, 
though  severe,  and  if  neglected  mortal, 
was  not  likely  to  be  dangerous  with 
good  attention,  the  captain  said  that  he 
must  be  getting  about  his  business. 

"Oh,  stay  a  little  longer,  fellers,  till 
he  comes  to,"  remonstrated  Bud.  "He'd 
like  to  have  a  chance  to  say  'Thank 
you.' " 

"Bugs!"  replied  the  captain.  "You 
tell  him  he  owes  us  a  drink,  and  as  a 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

particular  favor  to  me,  please  not  to 
put  his  frames  over  four  foot  apart  in 
that  ground. 

"We're  likely  to  be  back  here  shortly, 
anyhow,  because  I  think  your  friend 
has  got  hold  of  the  right  idea  from 
what  you  tell  me  of  his  plans;  but  it'll 
take  more'n  one  man  to  really  prospect 
it.  If  we  don't  hit  it  where  we're  go- 
ing, we'll  sure  come  back." 

"Well,  boys,  /  can  thank  you  and 
I'm  going  to,"  said  Bud.  "That  man  is 
my  friend,  and  if  you  hadn't  come  as 
you  did — " 

"Say,  let  go,"  interrupted  the  cap- 
tain. "You'd  have  done  the  same  thing 
if  you'd  been  us,  wouldn't  you?" 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"Yes,"  admitted  Bud  reluctantly. 

"And  you  wouldn't  want  to  be 
thanked  for  it  a  white  chip  more'n  we 
do,"  concluded  the  captain.  "If  there's 
any  thanks  coming  it  is  to  that  little 
two-foot  chunk  of  man  yonder.  Snak- 
ing over  that  fall  was  a  thing  to  put  a 
crimp  in  anybody.  You  was  bound  to 
help  your  pardner,  wasn't  you,  son?" 

The  boy  looked  up  into  the  captain's 
eagle  face.  "I'd  'er  got  to  Jim,"  he  an- 
swered simply,  "  'f  I'd  had  ter  chew 
me  way  in  like  a  rat." 

The  captain  stepped  back  and 
looked  at  him. 

"By  the  Lord!"  he  said  slowly,  "I  be- 
lieve you  would!"  A  change  came  over 
137 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

the  thin,  arrogant  face.  He  stooped 
suddenly,  raised  the  boy  and  kissed 
him.  "Now,  get  out  o'  this !"  he  roared 
at  the  driver,  as  he  leaped  into  the 
wagon. 

They  waved  their  hands  as  long  as 
the  miners  were  in  sight,  and  stood 
staring  until  Pete's  statement  that 
they'd  all  be  angels  by-and-by  was  lost 
in  the  distance. 

"Pretty  good  folks  when  you're  in 
trouble,  ain't  they,  Ches?"  said  Bud. 

"What  'ud  we  have  done,  if  dey 
hadn't  come? — Ain't  it  'mos'  time  Jim 
was  moving,  Bud?" 

"I'll  give  him  another  spoonful  of 
whisky,  but  you  can't  expect  him  to 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

start  right  up  and  hop  around.  He  got 
an  awful  crack,  boy." 

For  all  that,  as  the  dose  of  strong 
liquor  went  down  Jim's  throat,  he 
opened  his  eyes. 

"Hello,  Bud!  Hello,  Ches!"  he  said 
wonderingly.  "Have  I  been  asleep? — 
iWhy,  what  the  devil's  the  matter  with 
my  head?"  he  raised  his  hand  to  the 
spruce-gum  bandage.  "Phew!  But  I 
feel  weak!"  he  sighed  as  his  hand 
dropped.  "Something's  happened — 
what  is  it?" 

There,  with  a  friend  on  each  side 
holding  a  hand,  they  told  him  the  story. 
It  was  a  sacred  reunion. 

The  gratitude  of  the  man  saved,  and 
139 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

the  protestations  of  the  others  that  they 
would  have  done  all  they  did  a  thou- 
sand times  again  would  only  seem 
childish  in  repetition.  They  cried, 
too,  which  is  excusable  in  a  child,  but 
not  in  two  big  men.  Men  don't  cry.  It 
is  the  monopoly  of  women.  Neverthe- 
less, Bud  and  Jim  and  Ches  cried  and 
swore,  and  shook  hands  and  cried  again 
until  it  was  a  pitiful  thing  to  see. 

"Well,"  said  Bud  at  last,  "this 
makes  you  feel  better,  but  it  won't  get 
the  work  done.  I've  got  to  go  out  and 
fix  old  Buck  and  get  in  some  fire- 
wood." 

"Oh,  I'll  do  that!"  cried  Jim,  raising 
himself  on  his  elbow. 
140 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

"You?"  jeered  Bud.  "You  look  like 
it!  Now,  you  lie  right  down  there  and 
get  well — that's  your  play.  It  would 
make  us  feel  as  if  we'd  wasted  our  time 
if  we  had  to  turn  to  and  bury  you  after 
all  the  trouble  we've  had.  You're  good 
for  two  weeks  in  that  bunk,  old  horse." 

"Two  weeks!  I  can't,  Bud;  I  can't! 
I  must  get  up  before  that!" 

"You  lie  down  there — hear  me?" 

"But  I'll  have  to  see  to  things  around 
— you  can't  stay." 

"I  stay  right  here  till  you're  well." 

"But  the  mail?" 

"The  devil  take  the  mail — or  any- 
body else  that  wants  the  job.  Uncle 
Sammy  won't  hop  on  to  my  collar  but- 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

ton,  because  of  the  fine  send-off  my 
friend  the  inspector'!!  give.  And  some- 
body will  get  orry-eyed  up  in  town,  and 
come  down  to  find  what's  loose.  He'll 
take  the  bags  then.  It's  all  settled." 

"But  there  are  other  things — " 

"Let  'em  rest.  Now  I'm  off  to  do  the 
chores — oh,  say,  speaking  of  mail, 
here's  a  letter  for  you  I  forgot  all  about 
in  the  excitement — here  you  go.  Come 
along,  Ches,  and  help  me  carry  wood." 

The  miner  looked  at  the  letter  in  his 
hand,  and  a  tinge  of  blood  crept  into 
his  white  cheeks,  then  ebbed,  leaving 
them  whiter  than  before. 

Suppose  there  were  other  men  who 
wanted  her;  men  with  money,  learn- 
142 


SWEET  3RIAR  GULCH 

ing,  wit  and  influence.  Was  this  bit- 
terest of  blows  to  fall  upon  him  when 
he  was  already  down?  He  looked  at 
his  hands,  green  from  loss  of  blood.'"! 
tried,"  he  muttered,  "I  tried." 

Still  the  very  touch  of  the  paper 
seemed  to  have  something  warm  and 
heartening  in  it.  It  was  from  her,  any- 
how. With  sudden  strength  he  tore  it 
open  and  read : 

DEAREST,  DEAREST  JIM — I  yield  the 
whole  case.  You  are  right. 

It  is  to  my  shame  that  clear-sighted- 
ness came  from  no  source  within  me, 
but  from  a  brave  example  set. 

My  little  cousin  married  the  man 

H3 


THE  MASCOT  OF 

she  loved  last  week,  and,  of  course, 
Miss  Anne  was  a  high  functionary. 

Oh,  what  a  stirring  there  was  in  me, 
Jim,  watching  them  and  thinking  ofi 
you! 

They  will  be  as  poor  as  church  mice, 
but  they  do  not  care,  and  theirs  is  the 
wise  economy. 

Life  is  too  short  to  waste,  Jim,  I  see 
it  now.  I  put  it  all  in  your  hands,  dear- 
est; if  you  can  not  come  to  me,  I  shall 
come  to  you. 

I  believe  I'm  only  lukewarm  by 
habit,  not  by  nature. 

I  wish  I  could  tell  you  how  sorry  I 
am  for  the  time  I  have  squandered. 

I'll  show  you,  that  will  be  better. 
144 


SWEET  BRIAR  GULCH 

Any  time,  or  any  place  and  no  condi- 
tions now,  Jim.  That's  all,  my  dear 
brave  lover.  Good  night. 

Your  own,  ANNE. 

He  was  sitting  bolt  upright.  Once 
more  he  devoured  the  letter.  Then  he 
sank  back  and  closed  his  eyes. 

"Thank  you,  my  darling,  I  can  rest 

\ 

now,"  he  said. 

The  golden  sunset  light  played  in 
riotous  joyousness  on  the  cabin  walls; 
the  little  creek  laughed  out  loud ;  so  did 
Ches  and  Bud,  approaching  the  cabin. 
It  was  a  beautiful  and  happy  world. 

THE  END 


